Resistance
by pokeman1280
Summary: The Traitor is dead. Salem is dead. Ruby thought she could live in at least temporary retirement, but the universe had other plans. Stripped from her home, away from those she loves the most, she is forced to fight for a world foreign to her. Few others are in her position The only way for everyone get back to their homes, help X-COM win their war.
1. Empty

**Hello, and welcome to **_**Resistance! **_**Honestly, this first chapter is going up to gauge interest to see if this is something people like. Those of you who have been following me for a while know that I typically upload once a week. That's not going to happen this time around. Also, if you're expecting DrAmishMD level stuff, you won't find that here. This will have shorter chapters with most missions confined to one chapter.  
**

**Anyway, this is an unofficial/not canon continuation of my long-running crossover series between RWBY and the Inheritance Cycle, pretty much RWBY with dragons. There will be a slight continuation between then and this. Slight because, well, you'll see if it gets that far. In other words, relationships are set, various people are in various positions that they weren't before, and a lot of extra baggage. This is more of an alternate future if that makes sense. Wibbly wobbly timey whimey and all that.**

**Not going to lie, things that happen in this are influenced by things that happened in some of my more recent XCOM games. This includes some modded craziness and some head canons for a few things. Also, my games tend to cross series, like Captain Picard fighting alongside Legolas. There's going to be some of that, though that example won't be in here. I'm going to keep it at least somewhat contained. No other universe character will be included without meaning.  
**

**Enough of that. Onto this experiment.**

* * *

Ruby opened her eyes and all she saw was green, and not the kind she'd grown used too. That was followed by burning pain to her eyes, lungs, and head. She jerked around and felt like she was in some fluid that wasn't water. She thrust her arms out in front of her and her left hand connected with what felt like glass. There was also a slight breeze. That meant air.

The Huntress thrust her head up and out of the fluid. She gasped for air as she looked around. As she collected herself, she noticed the worst pain in her head wasn't going away. A huge hole in her mind that her soulmate used to occupy. "Cerise?" Her voice sounded horse in her own ears.

Ruby brought her hands to her head, or one of her hands anyway. She jerked her eyes toward her right arm. The mechanical interface on the stump of her arm was there but nothing else. That explained one thing, nothing else.

She returned her attention to the glass in front of her. "Jierda." The glass didn't shake and Ruby didn't feel an energy drain. She didn't feel any of her Aura either… just like the suppression collar. Break out of here, get everything back. Get _Cerise_ back. She clenched her good fist and thanked Yang for not the first time for teaching her how to punch. Ruby found what looked like a bullet hole in the glass and launched her fist at that. Her hand went straight through the glass, shattering the rest of it. Ruby turned her head away to protect her eyes from the glass.

When the shards stopped raining, Ruby pulled herself up and out of whatever was holding her. She leaned over a black bar around her glass cell and fell about ten feet to the ground, landing on her right shoulder. She kept gasping for air as her lungs burned. Even though she was out of whatever that stuff was, she still couldn't feel Cerise or her Aura. Something was very, _very _wrong.

The Huntress tried to push herself up but she felt something enter her lungs. She coughed and hacked while her body tried to clear its airways. The same green goop from whatever held her came out of her mouth. Whatever it was triggered her gag reflex. Her body contracted and a whole stream of the gunk burst out of her mouth. After three repeats, the gunk stopped coming but she kept on hacking. At least it wasn't as severe.

Ruby collapsed under her own weight, thankfully to the side of the junk she coughed and barfed up. No Cerise. Still no Cerise. She balled herself up, only barely noticing her bionic leg was missing too. What happened? She was just out getting things for Crey's first birthday. Grimmcast wasn't even active in Vale, hadn't been for months. No intel suggested anything was wrong. But… Cerise… dead? That couldn't be… The defenses were up. She was playing with Crey… Nalia was coming around and in fighting shape… How…

She thought she heard footsteps on metal. Ruby tried to face it but whatever that stuff was still covered her eyes. Whoever it was yelled something either in a language she didn't understand, or her hearing was messed up as well. She ran her arm in front of her eyes and looked up at a soldier in red armor. His helmet covered most of his face. Two other soldiers behind him in black armor aimed their weapons at her. Ruby had a bad feeling about these guys but she couldn't do anything but glare at them. The one in red motioned to the one on his right and the ordered soldier stepped forward.

Before he took a second step, something shot through his helmet. A gunshot rang out a split second later. The two other soldiers aimed their rifles at where the shot came from before their comrade hit the ground. They split up and jumped off the metal ledge behind the Rider. Ruby turned her head toward them. The red one took a three-shot burst to the right shoulder but kept on moving to cover behind a forklift. The one in black ran through three other streams of fire, one of them being from a shotgun, before sliding into cover behind a car.

Ruby faced the cliff where the gunfire came from. Three soldiers were up top, one of them being a sniper, one of them with an LMG or something similar, the last with an assault rifle. On the ground, one of the attackers had a shotgun and the last had two pistols. Five against two. This was only going to go one way.

"Oh, you," a voice said behind Ruby. She jerked her head toward the sound. A giant man with purple skin stood on the edge of a half wall and the stack of… whatever the thing was that held Ruby. "You're not supposed to be out of your pod, Avatar." He stuck out of cover for a second and pointed a massive black sniper rifle at the ones near the cliff. "I'll take care of this pest, then I'll take care of you." He fired one shot and someone screamed.

A hail of gunfire rained on the mystery man's position. He ducked back behind the pods and grunted. "Typical. I'll get you yet, Avatar. I might get the Elders off my back for a day for resecuring you." Resecuring? That said at least he wasn't a good guy. That didn't mean anything about the others.

As bullets continued to fly in both directions, Ruby pushed herself with her one remaining leg toward the half wall opposite the sniper to get away from him and to protect herself from the bullets. While she did that, she looked around. It looked like she was on an open-air train car or something like that.

All she could do was count the number of different weapons she heard. Why were they wasting so much ammo? Probably because a few shots actually hit the sniper and they barely did a thing. Every once and awhile, one would drop out and come back in a few seconds later… all except what sounded like a shotgun. That had yet to rejoin. Then again, shotguns at range… She pushed down the thoughts that she should try to force herself into the line of fire to end the pain of having Cerise ripped from her mind. Her Wards were gone, her Aura was gone, it would be quick… But Cerise dying wouldn't take those away…

A woman screamed from the side of the sniper. A woman in all black jumped at the purple-skinned man with a sword raised above her head. She brought it down across the sniper's chest. The wound oozed purple blood and the man fell to his knees. "Got you again, bitch."

The sniper spit out blood. "You never will again." A black and purple column of light rose around him, a color combination that Ruby recognized from her own portals over the years. He was gone. No way to track him, not that she could do much in her current state.

The woman straightened and cocked her head. "Copy that, Central." She turned her head toward Ruby and did a double-take. "Commander, I think I found the civvie." She jumped over the other side of the train car. A shotgun was slung over her shoulders. "You okay, ma'am?"

Ruby glared at the woman. _"Who are you?" _She didn't know why she said it in that language, but she wasn't exactly in the right mind to think straight.

The sword wielder hesitated. "Can anyone translate that?"

"Whatever language that was," a male voice started, "it wasn't happy." Ruby turned her head toward the voice. Someone in white and blue armor jumped into the train car. Unlike the woman, this armor covered his whole body and looked at least fairly sturdy. The helmet's black visor looked like a top-heavy 'T' with what looked like a respirator forming legs. "Never thought I'd want a protocol droid to help with something."

"_What do you want?"_ Ruby glared at each of them.

The woman sighed. "Look, we can do this the easy way," she pulled her shotgun off her back with the stock facing Ruby, "or the hard way." The Huntress continued to glare before dropping it and looking away. If these people weren't hostile, it wouldn't do to treat them like the enemy, not that it would do much good to fight them

"Glad we understand each other." The woman walked forward and grabbed Ruby's good arm. She picked the Huntress up and flung her over her shoulder.

Ruby expected her hair to flop in front of her face but the turn never came. Ruby blinked and reached her arm up to her head. She just felt skin up there. "Oh come on…"

"Oh, so you _do_ speak English." The woman sighed. "Quiet to Firebrand, we're plus one warm body." She climbed over the edge of the train car and started walking away from it. That's when Ruby noticed a breeze. She turned her head to look over herself… her normal combat clothes were gone, replaced by loose-fitting rags that barely kept her modest.

Ruby sighed and shook her head. She was being taken somewhere by people she didn't know… and worst of all, she had no idea if Cerise was still alive. She clenched her eyes and tried to expand her mind past where it already was. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't feel any mind outside her own. No magic of either kind, no friends nearby, no help coming. This was _not_ good. "Cerise, where are you?"

She said nothing else as she was carried away. The grass and dirt beneath her turned to metal as the one carrying her walked up a ramp. Her carrier inhaled through her teeth. "Geeze, Eagle-eye, that bastard got you good." Someone, presumably Eagle-eye, groaned.

The sword wielder turned and set Ruby down on a seat. "Sit here and don't touch anything." She sat on a bench directly across from Ruby. "If you play nice, we'll drop you off at a resistance haven."

"Don't promise what you can't give," a voice called from the cockpit. "You heard what the Commander said."

"Firebrand's right." The white and blue armored soldier from before walked up the ramp into whatever transport this was. He looked right at Ruby as he grabbed one of the handles hanging from the ceiling. "She answers our questions, and depending on what this 'Avatar' says, the Commander will decide the best course of action." Ruby clamped her teeth together. That could either be good or bad… and what was this 'Avatar' thing anyway?

Ruby looked around the transport. Two other people were in the crew compartment. One of them, dressed in blue and red Kevlar armor, knelt in front of the other with a medkit sitting beside her and other medical tools in hand. The guy on the same bench as Ruby… it looked like his right arm was being held on by a thin strip of skin. Ruby stared at cross-section of the shoulder, though most of it was covered in some kind of blue film. And he was _awake. _Ruby winced and brought a hand to her stump arm. She was out cold for all that. She couldn't imagine being awake through it, with or without painkillers.

One more person walked up the ramp of the transport. He was built like Yatsuhashi and carried a minigun to compliment his size. "Recovery team is on ground," he said with a thick accent Ruby couldn't place. He glared at Ruby for a second before facing the other standing soldier. "They say we are no longer needed."

The white armored soldier nodded then faced the cockpit. "Firebrand, take us home." It looked like he was the leader of this group.

"Copy that, Rex. Buttoning up. I'll try to keep this thing stable for Eagle-eye." The engines on the transport spun up. The ramp folded up and Ruby felt the transport lift off the ground. The thing accelerated a little slow compared to the Bullheads she was used to.

Ruby started coughing again, bringing up more green stuff. It sounded like the woman who carried her in made a noise of disgust. "We need a bucket back here."

"Hey!" The pilot, likely Firebrand, yelled. "No losing your lunch on my Skyranger! You make a mess in my baby, you clean it up with a toothbrush."

After she stopped coughing and water left her eyes, she noticed someone slid a helmet in front of her. Not all of the green stuff made it into there. Ruby ran her arm across her mouth. As she sat back up, she noticed the three that weren't occupied with something were staring at her, and not in a concerned way. She shrunk under their combined gazes and tried to cover herself up a little more. "Anyone have a spare jacket or something?"

The woman across from her looked her up and down and nodded. "Firebrand, I know you have something."

"Quiet, who's asking? You or the 'Avatar' we picked up?"

"The elf, Vulcan, whatever she is." 'Quiet' gestured at Ruby. "If the doc said she shouldn't pose a threat, I'm not going to treat her like one."

"Those pods were full of humans," 'Rex' said. "For all we know, her and everyone else were heading to another place like that Black Site."

The medic shivered as she reached into her medkit. "I don't need any reminder of that place."

Firebrand groaned. "If she turns out to be a Faceless, I'm blaming you." A few seconds later, a leather jacket flew out of the cockpit and landed at Quiet's feet.

"Thank you." Quiet picked the jacket up and tossed it to Ruby. The Huntress grabbed it with her one good arm and fumbled around with it while trying to put it on. She eventually got the sleeves over her arms and pulled it closed. It only covered her top half but it was better than nothing.

As time drew on, the silence in the 'Skyranger' gave Ruby too much time to think. The pain and the emptiness in her head hurt even more. She clenched her eyes and tried to stretch her mind out again, to just _maybe_ feel a sliver of her dragon's mind. Much like last time, she couldn't even feel the people around her. Her dragon was… gone… just gone. "Cerise…" A whine escaped past her clenched teeth.

The longer the flight went on, the more it hurt. This was the longest Cerise had been out of her head since hatching. The suppression collars that held her before she either tore off after a few seconds or she was unconscious for. Now, she felt the full force of it. This was what Yang and Nalia felt… but her _Aura_ was gone too. Ruby held onto that fact. That was the only thing that kept her from breaking down completely. If Cerise was _gone_ gone, it wouldn't take away her Aura. Something was holding that back. Some suppression collar or something similar was doing this to her. Just _how?_

She ran her hand over her bald head… and felt a scar that wasn't there before on the back of her skull. Ruby ran her fingers up and down the scar. It felt like a perfectly straight line… That would do it. She clenched her teeth again. Find a doctor, get whatever it was removed, get her soulmate back…

Ruby blinked. She hadn't noticed it before but her vision was skewed. She held her hand in front of her right eye… and saw nothing. She kept her index finger extended while folding back everything else. She brought her finger toward her eye socket but her finger didn't make contact with anything. "They took everything from me…" She pulled her hand back and looked at her ring finger. Even her gold and emerald wedding ring was missing. She whimpered. Her dragon, her magic, her Aura, her bionics, her clothes, her favorite gift from her husband… she had nothing. Ruby blinked once more and a tear fell onto her lap. She _really_ hoped these people were good guys. Otherwise…

She felt the transport slow down and herself press against the side and bottom of her seat. "We're coming in fast, ladies," Firebrand called. "Commander says the recovery team had to bug out early. We've got to clear the elevator."

"You heard the lady." Rex stood up and grabbed one of the bars on the ceiling. "Bones, get Eagle-eye immediately to the surgery center. Points is expecting you there. Quiet, the infirmary will do for our guest."

"Got it, boss," the medic said.

Quiet shrugged. "As long as she doesn't vomit on me." Ruby shook her head. If Yang said it, she'd growl and elbow her sister. She still had no idea who these people were. All she knew was they didn't put her in that pod. That wasn't enough to trust them.

The transport set down a few seconds after Rex stood up. The ramp opened and the apparent leader of the squad jumped out. The big guy followed him. Quiet stood up and looked down at Ruby. "Can you lean on me or do I need to carry you out there?"

Ruby thought about it for a second. She'd walked without her leg in front of Crey to get him to laugh in the last few months, not to mention all the training before… but that was with Aura, and she still hurt all over. She couldn't do that, but she could do the next best thing. "If walking's an option, I'll take it." Ruby pulled the sleeve on her stump arm back and raised the interface toward the woman

Quiet looked at the arm before grabbing it and helping Ruby to her feet. The Rider immediately slung the stump around the other woman's shoulders, while she hopped around trying to get a good balance. "You ready?" Quiet asked.

"As I'll ever be." Ruby hopped forward once, trying to show a little initiative. Maybe if she acted at least somewhat confident, she could get some answers out of these people… that, and she hated being patronized by people who knew nothing about what was going on.

Quiet took the lead again and gave Ruby a look the wounded woman couldn't place. They stepped into open air and walked by a medical cart that was likely for Eagle-eye. Ruby turned her head to look around what looked like the dorsal hull of an airship. Far off to the sides, twin turbine-like engines were attached to the ship. Definitely not the design of any Kingdom. Some of the hull markings looked similar to those she'd seen on airships of all Kingdoms but those were cautionary in nature. None of their crests were painted anywhere. The upside-down pentagon with an 'X' certainly wasn't it. 'Vigilo Confido…' Sounded like ancient Mistrili. Some paramilitary group that somehow hid from the Kingdoms and Riders? No… There was no way anyone could hide something this big without magic. She could understand people not recognizing her without her hair and clothes, but all this tech said something very different was going on.

They entered the ship proper with Rex and the other guy waiting for them in what looked like an elevator. The car descended for a bit and the other two walked out first. Quiet led Ruby out as well but their paths diverged after the first turn. "I'm going to apologize right now for the medical facilities," the sword wielder said. "We don't have a proper infirmary yet. Docs say that's coming by the end of the week. We had to set aside a part of the crew quarters for non-life-threatening medical procedures." Ruby gave her escort a look. This felt like a huge ship, what kind of unit was this?

Quiet pushed her way into what looked like the crew quarters and Ruby thought she got her answer, and another that she didn't know she had a question about. This place was decorated like an older restaurant. Posters of what looked like movies and theatrical productions lined the walls… with a few scantily clad women, of course… but that wasn't a thing in any military barracks common room she'd seen. This wasn't military and it wasn't any Rider sanctioned operation. A wildcard, and one that Ruby had no idea how to play.

Then there were the people. She didn't see any Faunus in the room, but there were people that clearly weren't human. One of them had silver hair and horns growing out of her head, and she was talking to a blue-skinned man with two tails growing out of the back of his head and hanging down his back. _I don't think we're in Vale, anymore, Dodo. _A few of the people in the room stared at Ruby as she passed but it only looked like it was out of idle curiosity.

Ruby's escort led her to a tarped off area and opened one of the flaps to reveal another door. She opened that and led her charge into what used to be a room a squad of six could have taken, judging from the bunks built into the wall. Only the bottom three were used while three wireframe beds lined the other wall. It didn't look like there was enough medical equipment for everyone. Whoever these people were, it didn't look like they had their priorities set right.

Quiet laid Ruby down on one of the freestanding beds. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, especially with the thin, lumpy mattress and the metal bar frame, but it was better than nothing. "Both our docs are going to be held up with surgery for a bit. Someone will be in here at some point to ask you questions." She turned around and left without another word.

Now alone, Ruby made a more intense visual check of the room. She didn't see any cameras or other listening devices, so she was alone. No need to fake being put together anymore. Ruby curled up into a ball on her bed and clenched her eyes. Once again, she tried to expand her mind out. It gave her one hell of a headache to try that hard but the pain of not having her dragon hurt worse.

Ruby whipped her hand onto the back of her head and felt up and down the scar. That _had_ to be where whatever kept her mind isolated was kept. That scar was _not_ there this morning and as far as Ruby knew that was the only thing that was different. She poked her fingernails into the scar and dug in. It hurt but she didn't have enough fingernails to get the job done… She was still tempted. _Very_ tempted. She needed Cerise back in her head and she didn't want to wait for a doctor… but the sane part of her mind kept her from tearing her head open. Ruby pulled her shaking hand back in front of her and grabbed her knee. Yang waited months… Nalia would never feel Aaron again. A few more minutes wouldn't hurt.

Only it wasn't just a few more minutes. Time just dragged on and on with no clock to tell how much time was really passing. At some point, Ruby felt the room shift, like the ship was raising and banking. The 'recovery team' had to be back and secured. While waiting, Ruby repeatedly slammed her head into her bed's pillow to feel something other than empty. She thought about moving to smack her forehead on one of the iron bars but she didn't like the idea of being put in a straitjacket.

After way too long, the door opened again. Ruby uncoiled herself and faced the opening. Two men that Ruby hadn't seen before stepped inside. The Huntress caught sight of someone with a gun on the other side before the door closed. The man in front had graying hair and beard yet the way he carried himself said he wasn't exactly ready to live in a nursing home. A combat knife rested in a holster on the left shoulder of his two-tone green sweater. The other man had dark skin and was completely bald. He wore a mainly white lab coat with green accents on the shoulders. He carried a large box with a red plus sign on it. What that meant, Ruby didn't know. Good cop, bad cop? Which was which? This likely wasn't going to be fun.

The first man looked down at Ruby. "I understand that you may be confused as to what's going on. Frankly, so are we. As far as we know, you are the first one to wake up from one of those pods and break out. Doctor Tygan's here to check for adverse effects of being in the pod." He gestured to the other man.

"It is astounding for someone to punch their way through that glass," Tygan said. "I wouldn't think that any human would be able to break through with their bare fists." He set his box down on a side table and faced Ruby. "Then again, you aren't human." Ruby didn't feel like correcting him.

"As you're not human, there are a few things you should know," the first man said. "You are no longer-"

"Who the hell are you people?" Ruby growled out.

The man narrowed his eyes and knocked on the door behind him. The door slid open and the big man from before stepped through, only with a much smaller assault rifle. "I'm trying to be civil here. Considering you didn't attack our soldiers on sight, you aren't with the alien's we're fighting."

_Aliens? _Ruby blinked. _Well, that explains the purple and blue guy._

"We've come across several that now either fight with us or live in a few select havens. However, the way we found you has made a lot of people suspicious, including me." Ruby clamped her mouth shut but didn't lower her glare.

"As I was saying, you are no longer on your home planet. You're on Earth, and you picked one hell of a time to visit. Our planet's been invaded by aliens and we're trying to take it back. We don't have the resources to keep every civvie we see on the ship, so if you behave yourself, we'll drop you off at a haven that will accept you. But first, we need to know that you're not a threat to wherever we decide to place you. Understand?"

Ruby just stared at the man. In the back of her head, she thought of another world… for a minute before she discarded it. Yet at the same time, she couldn't dismiss the idea. The alien invasion, well, she'd seen two that she knew of. For the longest time, she relied on wards to know if people were lying to her. Considering she felt none of those, she had to rely on her natural senses. Even so, she couldn't pick out a lie. She might as well see what this guy told her. "Understood."

The man nodded. "First things first, who are you, and where are you from?"

"Scarlet Calrow," Ruby said without a second's hesitation. Whoever held her had to have known her name, and there was still the strong possibility that these guys weren't the good guys. "I'm from the Kingdom of Mistral… and I guess… planet Remnant." She narrowed her eyes. "You?"

The man straightened up. "Central Officer John Bradford, Kansas City Missouri, United States."

_Central Officer,_ Ruby thought. _Sounds high ranking… you know, he kind of reminds me of Captain Bradford. _Motion to her left caught her eye. Tygan pulled over a cart of medical equipment and his box was also opened on it. More medical supplies rested in that. Good to know for the future.

"What is the last thing you remember before waking up in the pod?"

Ruby blinked. With all the pain in her head, she hardly even thought about that. She faced her lap. "I… just got into the city for some grocery shopping. I met with one of my friends in a park… then everything went purple and I stood in a pure white room. After that… I don't know what hit me…" She actually didn't. None of those stun soldiers hit her. "It was a black… tentacly… ball." _Please tell me Viki didn't get caught up in this..._

Bradford looked at Tygan. "That ring any bells?"

Tygan shook his head. "No. None of the others have said they encountered anything like that." He faced Ruby and narrowed his eyes. He repositioned to look at the back of Ruby's head. "How long have you had this scar?"

"Since after I woke up from the pod." Ruby turned her head to point the scar directly a the doctor. "Any idea what it is?" Those words almost came out of her mouth as one.

"I may." Tygan straightened and looked at Bradford. "It's in much the same position as the Commander's."

Bradford stiffened. "Could it be transmitting?"

"Hold on." Tygan grabbed some thick Scroll looking device and held it to Ruby's head. "I am not detecting anything, though I would prefer Shen to make the final call. I also cannot tell if it's receiving any information."

"As long as it can't give away our position." Bradford sighed. "Still, if you have something in your head, it would be better to remove it sooner rather than later."

"No arguments here," Ruby mumbled. She wanted to say get the thing out of her head immediately, but it wouldn't do to pressure these people. Just get whatever it was out of her head, then explain her situation in full and get more information out of them. With Cerise back in her head, she'd be able to think much clearer.

Bradford continued to ask questions, mainly about Ruby's history and where she came from. The Rider downplayed her contributions to society, including leaving out the fact she was a Rider completely. She didn't want to give herself up so easily, especially since she couldn't defend herself. All the while, Tygan took her pulse, blood pressure, all that normal doctor stuff. He appeared to take interest in the stumps and interfaces for her bionics along with the silver mark on her hand but didn't touch anything. He mainly took notes on those.

"One last question for now." Bradford crossed his arms. "Several soldiers reported that they heard you mumbling 'Cerise.' What does the color red have to do with anything?"

Ruby wanted to scream everything. She barely held herself back. She did _not_ want to deny her dragon's existence... but what if these people weren't good guys and were looking for her too? She couldn't give up her soulmate so easily.

A knock came from the door, stopping Ruby's mental panic, at least for the moment. Bradford and the guard faced it. "Doctor, you expecting anyone?"

"My assistant, yes," Tygan said. "She would have arrived with me but she stayed back to clean the operating room after Corporal Thompson's surgery. She may be able to detect injuries that I may not."

"That she may." Bradford nodded at the guard. The big guy pressed a button and the door slid open.

Ruby sat straight up on her bed and stared at the newcomer. Black hair, pointed ears sticking out of it… the symbol of the Dragon Riders across from the pentagon. The woman raised her head from her tablet and green eyes met silver. Ruby dropped her jaw. "Invidia?"

The elf let her arms drop and she straightened. "Shadeslayer?"

* * *

**That's it for the introduction. Let me know if you want to see this continued... geeze, this is the first week for four years I don't have/want to upload anything next week. That's different. What am going to do with my life...**

**Also, for those of you coming over from _Reconstruction,_ rsclaymore commissioned another piece of art from manu-chann on deviantart. Green is my favorite color, so this one is my personal favorite. Go check that one out.**


	2. Allies?

**Well, there appears to be at least sufficient interest for me to continue this... and I've had an easier time writing this than original stuff... dang mindset that doesn't like to rewrite stuff I've already done... I need to work on that. At least I had a lot of time when my entire state was turned into an ice rink.  
**

* * *

Bradford looked in between Ruby and Invidia. "You two know each other?"

Invidia nodded. "Ruby Shadeslayer Rose was my superior in the Dragon Riders."

"_Invidia!"_ Ruby scolded. _"You told them about us?"_

The elf locked eyes with Ruby. _"Aye. It was not something I did lightly."_

"Ruby Rose?" Tygan looked down at Ruby. "That's not what you told us your name was." The big guy gripped his gun harder and rested a finger on the weapon's safety.

Ruby gave the three people she didn't know a glance before focusing solely on Invidia. _"Why did you tell them about us?"_

Invidia straightened. _"Shadeslayer, these people are not our enemies. They are fighting a war much more dire than against Salem or Galbatorix."_

"_That's hard to believe." _Ruby narrowed her eyes. _"If we lost to either of them, likely two planets would be under either one of their sway."_

The elf blinked. _"These people already lost their war." _Ruby widened her eyelids a sliver. Invidia held both her palms toward the Elder. _"You know I cannot lie in this tongue. I did not trust them with the entire truth for months. The existence of Alagaësia, yes, but Remnant, the Riders, and our enemies came later. Of course, I have and will never reveal the Riders' deepest secrets to anyone."_

The Rider took a deep breath through the nose. _"We can trust these people?"_

"_We can."_ Invidia slowly nodded. _"I have seen XCOM fight against their invaders and how they interact with those free of their opponent's control. They are much like the Riders in that regard." _She lowered her hands but she narrowed her eyes like she was examining something.

Ruby lowered her head and sighed. She raised her eyes to Bradford. "I didn't know if I could trust you. If one of my chief healers can, so can I."

Bradford crossed his arms and glanced at Invidia. "This is the Shadeslayer you've told us about? The one that can level armies of monsters in seconds?"

"The same… but something's wrong." Invidia cocked her head. "I can't feel you."

Ruby clamped her teeth together to keep herself from breaking down then and there. "I can't feel you. I can't feel anyone in this room. I can't feel _anything." _Invidia's eyes bulged out of her head. "I can't feel my Aura either… I don't suppose you've heard from Cerise?"

"The field around the planet isn't that strong." Invidia looked over any inch of Ruby's visible body before locking eyes on Tygan. "Have you found any abnormali-"

"Here!" Ruby whipped her head around so her new scar faced the healer. She pointed at it with her only hand. "Right here. I didn't have this when I woke up back in Vale." Invidia gripped Ruby's shoulders and the Rider felt the elf breathing on her neck. One of the hands disappeared and fingers rested on either side of the scar. The healer started whispering in the Ancient Language. She at least still had her magic.

"There is something metal inside your head that I don't remember being there before." Invidia paused. "It's different than the one we found in the Commander, but it's roughly the same size. We need to prep her for surgery immediately." Ruby turned her eyes up toward Tygan. For the first time, she didn't try to hold her emotions back.

Tygan stared at Ruby for a few seconds before facing Bradford. "Central?"

"I need to speak to the Commander about this," Bradford said. Ruby whipped her head to the man. Bradford held a fist to his chin. "There's more to the situation than just this."

"With all due respect," Invidia started, "we need to identify what is suppressing Ruby as soon as possible. With what she is capable of, we can-"

"The Chosen Hunter called her 'Avatar.'" Bradford glared at Invidia. Ruby turned her head to look at the two. The way Invidia held her lips together… this wasn't good. "We still don't know what the hell the Avatar Project is. It's been a while, but I used to play video games back before and during the first invasion. Avatar is another name for player characters." He turned his head toward Ruby and narrowed his eyes. "She may look like your boss, she may have her memories, but she could be a result of the Avatar Project." He faced Invidia again. "I can't make that decision. Besides, we're landing in a half hour. It's not a good idea to perform surgery when this tub's losing altitude. Doctor, we need to speak with the Commander. Grizzly, you and Bobcat watch the door." The man with the gun nodded. "Points… make our guest comfortable." With that, the three men left the room."

Invidia glared at the door. "If you learned how to fly, maybe Tygan and I could perform surgeries." Her gaze softened as she turned her head toward Ruby. "Are you well?"

Ruby whimpered and doubled over. She felt her eyes start to leak as she stared up at the elf. "Something in my head is keeping me from knowing if my dragon's alive. How do you think I'm feeling?"

"I would like to search again." Invidia sat by Ruby's side and rested a hand on the back of the Rider's head. "Keep still and try to keep quiet. My magic is not as strong as it is on Remnant and Alagaësia." Ruby jerked her head down once and stayed silent. Invidia didn't need distractions. Ruby just stared at a single bolt in the floor while only half paying attention to the spell being cast. At some point, it felt like she was falling, probably the ship landing wherever.

While the ship was still descending, Invidia sighed. "I'm sorry, Shadeslayer," she panted. "I can't help you right now."

Why did she sound so exhausted? Ruby turned around and dropped her jaw. Invidia's face was bone white with only a little red on her forehead. Sweat covered her skin and drenched her hair. "What happened to you?"

"Something happened here. After I was first taken, I could use magic and my Semblance as well as I could in Alagaësia or Remnant. Now… something's changed."

"Well, did you find out anything?"

Invidia nodded. "There is an electronic chip in your head that isn't connected to your bionics. If it was like the one Tygan and I pulled out of the Commander, we would be able to get it out by the end of the day… but it's wrapped around your spinal cord. Back in Ellesméra or Mor'ranar Vera, I would need the help of other healers to treat it right. Now… we'd need to wait for the chief engineer to build us the right equipment. The infirmary will be well supplied but it's not enough for this."

Ruby's shoulders almost fell off her body. "So… you can't get the thing out of me?"

"No. Before you ask, I've already tried to return to Alagaësia or Remnant. The spells never worked here, even when I was at full strength."

"We're stuck here then." Ruby lowered her head and rested her hand on the back of her neck. She clenched her eyes and dug her fingers into her skin. "Then what do we do?"

"I've been working with XCOM since a week after I arrived here. Tygan said that he will help everyone who is not from here get back to their own worlds… but only when their war is over can they spare the resources."

Ruby snapped her eyes open. "I need Cerise back in my head… and I can't leave Crey and Angel alone for too long." She straightened up and turned to face Invidia. "Sitrep. From when you got here to now."

Invidia nodded before leaning against the wall behind her. "I was helping decontaminate Mor'ranar Vera when a portal opened around me. It… enveloped me, then I was standing in a white room with several people in an observation room in the wall in front of me. Soldiers then attacked me from both sides. I thankfully still had my sword and magic at full strength. I fought through them and out of the facility. They tried to follow but I outran all their soldiers and hid myself from their airships.

"I found the nearest river and tried to cast the between worlds spell but it wouldn't take. When night fell, I searched the stars to find myself. None of the constellations were the same. I looked to the moon for guidance. Instead, the texture is completely different. That's when I knew I wasn't on Remnant or Alagaësia.

"Then I started wandering the wilderness, avoiding their patrols, trying to find something that might have a hint of where I was. I found some abandoned civilian vehicles. Judging by their license plates, I was in a place called 'Montana.' There were weapons and plenty of ammunition in the cars. I scavenged as much as I could and proceeded farther up the mountain I found myself on.

"After passing through several abandoned cities and settlements, I heard gunshots ahead. I ran toward it and found a small encampment under attack. The people that attacked you were the same ones that I fought." Invidia grimaced. "ADVENT… They were firing on civilians. I couldn't stand by. I ran in and killed I don't know how many of them.

"Some time into the attack, XCOM arrived. They wiped out the remaining soldiers… and then turned their guns on me."

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "And you joined them?"

"I scanned their minds." Invidia looked at her feet. "I surrendered myself to them and they threw me in their brig. I thought I'd stay in there for a while. Then Elena, Rex, and Zenmato came in and interrogated me. Long story short, they put in a good word with Central, now I'm one of the chief medics here. In fact, I'm so valuable in that position, I haven't left the _Avenger_ since I got here."

"So," Ruby crossed her good arm with her stump, "I'm assuming as an invaluable medic, you've learned a few things."

The elf nodded. "Twenty years ago, aliens invaded this planet and won. XCOM was defeated only because the country their base was located in betrayed them. Their Commander was taken prisoner and the command staff was scattered. Central eventually made contact with Shen senior and the two of them started to put the Avenger back together and reform XCOM."

"Bradford, Shen…" Ruby shook her head. "Are we sure we're not on the _Vytal?"_

"I never met him, but apparently the only things Raymond Shen had in common with Raina Shen were that they were elderly and had similar-sounding names. The Bradfords have similar personalities though." Invidia paused. "Anyway, when I first was brought aboard, we were only able to attack ADVENT in a small area around where the Avenger was landed. Then we received information that the Commander was being held in a gene clinic in the city of Seattle. As far as I know, that was our first time back in the city centers since the first war. Bradford and Jane Kelly, you might have heard her be referred to as 'Quiet,' were the only survivors from the mission. But they got the Commander out. Lily Shen received word of a power converter the _Avenger_ needed to take off and we grabbed that as soon as we could.

"Less than a week after our first flight," Invidia raised her right hand and stared at it, "I felt my connection to my Aura and magic decrease. Shen and Tygan detected a change in ADVENT's psionic network an hour after that." She let her arm fall back to her lap. "That can't be a coincidence. They know we're out, and they know we're dangerous. They found a way to hold us back, but it's not complete." The elf faced Ruby. "Which is how I knew that there was something different with you."

Ruby nodded. "How long? Before and after."

"I'm been here four months in total, two before and after we rescued the Commander."

"From what you've seen, how well can they fight? Do they stand a chance?"

Invidia winced. "That… depends on who you ask." She pulled a Scroll like device out of a pocket and did something on her screen. "When you're cleared, and I'm sure you will be, you'll get one of these too." She handed the Scroll to Ruby. "This is what we call, 'The List.'"

Ruby took the Scroll and read the full title, 'List of Things XCOM Operatives Are No Longer Allowed to Do.' Weird name for a rule book but she'd seen worse. She scrolled down and read the first rule…

1) Operatives may not replace fragmentation grenades with pineapples. Rookie [REDACTED] nearly lost his life because the round brown thing he threw at a group of troopers didn't explode.

1a) The same goes for the reverse. We don't need grenades destroying the mess hall.

1b) The rule extends for all grenades and things that aren't grenades. We shouldn't need to elaborate on this!

1c) Seriously, we barely have enough food to go around as it is. Stop. Doing. This.

The Scroll slipped from Ruby's hands onto the bed. She swore her jaw followed. The Rider creaked her head toward Invidia. "These people are this planet's best hope?"

"Unfortunately. We can't afford to be picky about who we let in. Most of the soldiers here know how to act. The whole squad that rescued you are among those, though that is mainly due to Rex and Jane straightening the others out."

Ruby held her head in her hand. _I'm never going to see Cerise again. _"Tell me what we're up against. I can carry the team if I must."

Invidia started going into detail on everything she knew about ADVENT and their alien masters. Missions, enemy designations, current tactics of both sides, current weapon capabilities, everything. These people were no Riders, not even Huntsmen, but on paper, they were a nice guerrilla force. The problems came from the people who thought it was funny to swap grenades with all kinds of fruit… and there were a _lot_ of those. Throughout the whole time, Ruby fought back waves of pain and loneliness that came from the lack of Cerise in her head.

Some time into the explanation, someone knocked on the door. It opened and a woman in her upper twenties walked in. She had a blue-green tactical vest on with an orange tank top with XCOM's logo underneath. Everything she wore had at least one kind of oil stain on it. Ruby liked the look of that. She could work with engineers. The woman blinked at Invidia. "Oh. I thought you would have gone operation room for prep by now."

"I would, Lily," Invidia started, "but I believe I discovered enough." She raised one of her hands. "We don't have the equipment to remove the implant right."

Lily hummed and looked Ruby up and down. "So you're the one that's got the whole ship riled up."

"Sorry to cause a fuss." Ruby shrugged. "I just wanted to pick up a cake and some fruit."

"If you ever get that chance, bring enough for the whole crew." Lily extended her left hand. "Lily Shen, chief engineer on board the _Avenger."_

Ruby took the offered hand and shook it. "Elder Ruby Rose."

"Elder." Lily cocked her head. "How old are you? You don't look a day over twenty-five."

"Thirty nine, forty in a couple months." Ruby took her hand back. "It's a Rider thing. Same with the ears and angled facial features."

"That would be nice." Lily paused. "I'm not here just for a social talk. The Commander wanted me to get measurements for basic prosthetics. It doesn't sound like you've got the run of the ship, but he's not afraid of having you walk around."

"Give me a piece of paper or two and I can give you detailed schematics." Ruby showed her stump arm to Lily, but more importantly, the interface on the end. "These things can take most limbs from my planet, but I'm assuming things are a little different here."

"Maybe." Lily knelt down and took a closer look at the interface. "Yep. This is a little more complicated than what I've done."

"Like I said, let me draw up a diagram and you can take it from there. Once I have an arm, I can take care of the rest."

Lily blinked at Ruby then faced Invidia. The elf nodded. "She designed her own bionics and those for thousands of others where we're from. Her kinds are the favorites of the military, firefighters, and many other groups."

"Good to hear." Lily faced Ruby again. "Supplies are limited around here, but I'll see what I can do."

Ruby nodded. "No gun in the arm yet. Got it."

* * *

Shen _really_ wasn't lying about the lack of supplies. She had enough available to craft a simple prosthetic arm and some things to create a leg and an eye, though the last one really didn't need that much material. The arm Shen made in two days was literally barebones. Two metal cylinders formed an oval with the space in the center completely open. All the necessary electronics filled the tubes so Ruby had full range of motion in the arm itself and in the fingers. No skin, no gun, no other sensors, but it was enough to enable Ruby to craft a similarly built leg and an eye. At least the eye had a built-in targeting display for when she eventually got a gun. Those two were built in three days in the makeshift infirmary without many advanced tools. Shen was impressed, and apparently, some of the higher-ups Ruby wasn't in contact with were as well. While the newest ensemble of bionics were hardly up to Ruby's standards, they worked, and that was enough.

A day after Ruby finished her new bionics, Tygan, Invidia, and several others Ruby didn't know moved all the medical equipment from their temporary home and to the new infirmary, leaving Ruby alone in a fairly spacious room. It looked like it was designed for six people so the rest of the bunks would likely be filled at some point. Since Ruby was effectively under house arrest, the alone time gave her plenty of time to think.

Through a good chunk of that time, Ruby wished Beowolves were making a meal of her. Before this, her connection to Cerise had only been severed for an hour at most. Not even being apart from each other for a month hurt like this. She would rather only see Cerise through video calls than spend another hour without her soulmate in her head. In the few hours she got to sleep, she saw her dragon getting killed in the most brutal ways she didn't dare describe to anyone. Her Aura being gone as well grew to be less and less of a comfort, but there was always that faint glimmer of hope.

In her few moments of lucidity, Ruby asked Invidia to brief her on just about everything going on with and around XCOM. The people, the ship, the enemies, the mission, the tech, and many more things. The top soldiers weren't the ones that switched out pineapples and grenades. Rex and Jane Kelly were among them. Rex was in a similar position to Ruby and Invidia. He was a clone soldier for a galaxy-spanning Republic. It sounded like something out of Galaxy Wars, and if the library in Tenga's tower didn't say that the multiverse was a thing, Ruby wouldn't believe it. Also in the 'taken from my home planet' category were Rayla the 'Moonshadow elf,' Mercedes Romero the Blorg, and Phil Coulson… just a spy from another Earth. Invidia couldn't place a connection between anyone in the group.

Another thing was XCOM's scientific priorities. Getting whatever was in Ruby's head out wasn't at the top of the list… but not the bottom. When they finished figuring out how to build long-range radio towers, the Commander said he wanted the chip in Ruby's head investigated. That day couldn't come soon enough…

* * *

Ruby could only stare at the wall in front of her. On the other side, Tygan, Shen, and Mercedes Romero (the only other scientist onboard) deliberated what it was in Ruby's head. They'd been talking for over an hour. What more could there be to say? Ruby gripped the edge of the bed the doctors sat her on. She wanted to feel the metal bend beneath her but her bionic hand wasn't strong enough to do that.

A hand fell on Ruby's left shoulder. "Ruby, you need to-"

"Invidia," Ruby bit out, "if you say I need to calm myself one more time, I am throwing you through that bulkhead!" She pointed at the wall to her right.

The elf pulled away. "I apologize, Shadeslayer." Ruby growled and turned her head away. One upon a time, she wouldn't mean that when she threatened it, but those days might as well have been a century ago.

The door to the room opened and Ruby snapped her head toward it. Shen and Tygan stepped into the room. The engineer didn't even have a fake smile on. This wasn't good. "How bad is it?" Ruby asked.

"Without being able to examine the chip itself," Tygan started, "we believe it is designed to suppress all psionic abilities in its host."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "We figured that out before we knew what it looked like. Can you get it out of my head?"

"At the moment… no." Tygan raised his tablet and hit a few buttons on its screen before turning it toward Ruby. It showed a rectangular chip with an ovular bulge partially _inside_ her brain. Ruby blinked. How was she alive at all? Tentacle like arms branched down toward the base of her head. "As Invidia told us, metal strands are wrapped around your spinal cord, but it's much worse than that." Tygan pressed a button and parts of the strands lit up red. "In some instances, they are buried inside your spinal cord and brain stem. Removal under the best of circumstances in the best facilities on Earth wouldn't be certain. Now, without the specialized equipment we need for this kind of operation, it would almost certainly kill you."

The Rider stared at the diagram, frozen in place. Brain stem… spinal cord… Halcyon healed that kind of injury… twice… Yang could do just about everything now… If only he was here… "So… you're not going to do anything?"

"It's not capable of transmitting or receiving," Shen started, "so there's no point in risking it. If there's any bright side to this whole thing, we believe that thing protects you from any psionic attacks on you, and the Commander has decided you're not a flight risk."

"You and I have different definitions of the word 'good.'" Ruby dipped her head. "Just… go…" No one else spoke. The door opened and but only two sets of footsteps left. She turned her head back toward Invidia. "I said go."

"I am going to take you back to your quarters." Invidia stepped forward. "You are physically unharmed and cannot stay in the infirmary. Judging from your body language, you don't want to move."

"You're right about that." Ruby sniffed as she stood up. "I have no idea when I'll know if Cerise is alive or not." She hugged herself. "That's…" Her throat constricted, stopping more words. Her left arm twitched.

"Come on." Invidia rested a hand on Ruby's back. "You need to go back to your quarters." Ruby's legs started to move without her wanting them to. She left the room and turned her head to the left. Mercedes… the big lump of hyper-intelligent fungus that stunk something fierce, stood that way and some of her tendrils and upper lumps raised. Invidia said that was her way of showing happiness of seeing a friend… then again, it sounded every living thing was her friend. Ruby just scowled and turned away. Maybe if she ever got Cerise in her head, she'd give the alien scientist a chance.

Ruby just let her legs carry her through the _Avenger_ with only Invidia's hand guiding her along the way. They passed soldiers and other crewmen along the way to the nearest elevator. She paid them no mind. None of them pointed weapons at her anymore or even carried them with the purpose of containing her, so they weren't important. They only acknowledged Invidia anyway. There was no need to talk to them.

They entered an elevator and rode up toward the barracks but stopped a level short. The door opened with Central standing on the other side. "You two. Just who I wanted to see." She stepped inside and canceled the trip to deck one. Ruby blinked at the panel and glanced up at Bradford.

"What's the situation, Central?" Invidia asked.

"The tech Shen had working on decrypting the datapad from the last mission just called the bridge," Bradford started. "We have twenty-four hours to act before ADVENT retaliates against us in one of the worst ways possible." He stared right at Ruby. "Invidia says you're one hell of a fighter and mechanic. Can you fight now?"

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "What's at stake here?"

"Millions of lives in four of the largest cities on Earth."

"Four?" Invidia asked. "Why didn't we know about this before?"

Bradford shook his head. "They didn't locate Havens. They're after the city centers this time, and they're going to blame it on us." He focused on Ruby again. "We only have two full-time engineers on this boat and neither of them can fight. Can you?"

Ruby turned her eyes down. She _really_ didn't want to… but these people were her best chance at getting Cerise back in her head. "I can."

"How good are you with bombs?"

"I've put together my fair share. I know what to look for."

"Maybe, maybe not." Bradford slammed a fist into the open door button. "Congratulations, Squaddie Rose, you're going on your first mission. Report to the armory, suit up, and pick out an unclaimed sniper and a secondary weapon."

Ruby barely nodded and stepped outside. A few signs hung that pointed toward the armory. She turned her head back. "What am I going to be looking for out there?"

Bradford grimaced. "Nukes." The elevator doors closed.

"Nukes?" Ruby cocked her head. "Bombs… in microwaves?" She shook her head. "Probably a local term."

* * *

**You know all those recovery missions where you open a chest, get a thing, and that thing's never seen again? Yeah, it's seen now.**

**For those of you who've followed me for a long time, you might have seen this coming… Horns up! Bobcats down! The Thundering Herd is returning to Texas once again! HOP UNTIL FRISCO! HOP UNTIL FRISCO!**


	3. First Deployment

**Okay... two scares since last time I uploaded. The first was that my beast of a computer wouldn't start for a couple days. Turns out it was just too cold to start. Who'd have thought a Minnesotan unfinished basement in the winter would be cold? The bigger one, my mom was diagnosed with cancer. I don't know how, but she got into surgery the following (last) Friday. Sounds like everything went well, but we'll learn more in a couple weeks.  
**

**Enough of that. Onto why you're here.**

* * *

Ruby walked through the door marked armory/hangar and looked around. The space was huge. A single transport took up space in the hangar. It had twin VTOL engines and tails coming off the crew compartment. The Skyranger wasn't exactly pretty to look at, with rust covering parts and metal plates missing, but it obviously could fly. A few people gathered around it, checking the straps. The _Avenger's_ takeoff… wasn't the smoothest. They were probably checking to make sure everything was still attached. There wasn't room in the hangar for a second transport. Where was the recovery team's?

The Rider turned her head to look at the space around her. She stood in the armory which filled the entire space before the hangar. Few guns were in lockers, no quartermaster stood anywhere… these people were _really_ low on manpower.

Ruby shook her head and walked toward where she saw snipers. She looked over them with a critical eye. Three of the seven had different paint jobs rather than the tan of the other four. Ruby grabbed one of the unclaimed guns and looked it over. It wasn't anything special. Standard issue, 5x scope, heavier than it looked… then again, that last part probably had to do with the fact she couldn't access her Aura. She brought her new gun up and looked down the scope. It looked properly aligned, but she wouldn't know until after she shot. She'd go this mission without her targeting aid, get a feel for the gun, then go the rest of the way with a reticle in her bionic eye.

She looked down at herself. On Ruby's second day onboard, Invidia gave Ruby a set of red and black XCOM fatigues. Those wouldn't do anything to protect her from gunshots. Ruby searched the area for an armor station and found it on the wall right next to the hangar proper. As she took a few steps toward that, the _Avenger_ lurched, sending Ruby off balance. She swore under her breath. Whoever was flying this thing…

The ship's intercom chirped for attention. _"The following operatives will report to the hangar,"_ a voice Ruby kind of recognized started, _"Corporal Rayla, Sergeant Rex, Squaddies Anderson, Rose, and Dallaire. Your equipment for this mission is being sent to your datapads." _Ruby rolled her eyes. She didn't get one of those. Probably because she was so new, but still. Who sent their soldiers out under-equipped? Then again, she wasn't used to fighting like a guerilla. Even when fighting the war in Alagaësia, she had all the supplies she needed in the Bullheads or on Cerise' saddle… Ruby clenched her eyes as she thought of her dragon. It was going to be so hard fighting without her soulmate in her head.

As soon as she straightened herself out, Ruby started looking through the available armor. It was all simple Kevlar like SWAT teams, nothing plated like the military or the Riders. Ruby grimaced at the low-tech protection, but it was better than nothing. She searched around for vests and other pads that were her size. All four of them were already in full armor. That was common practice with Huntsmen and the Riders, not the military. At least that was familiar.

Ruby spent about an hour picking out armor and tying it to herself. When she was done, she looked herself over and tried to go through her full range of motion. The armor was heavier than she was used to and slowed her down but she could still move in the ways she needed to. She wasn't sure how she felt about the bodycam being on the left side of her chest plate. It wasn't big enough to be in the center and cover the XCOM logo on the right side.

Believing she wouldn't get any better armor with what was available, Ruby grabbed her new rifle and walked over to the squad she was at least temporarily assigned to. It looked like the other four were talking to each other. Rex was still in the white and blue plastic-like armor he had on the mission Ruby was rescued. The major differences in the rest came from colors or whether or not they had sleeves. Rayla's armor had blue padding and a black underlay. Her bare arms and hands twin swords, with the blades' scabbards hung in an 'X' on the elf's back. Another of the soldiers wore what looked like standard wilderness camouflage on his armor. An assault rifle was strapped to his back and a blocky robot with four glowing struts flew behind him. The last soldier wore a red beret with her armor being red and blue. A similarly colored shotgun leaned against her legs and a ballistic shield lay on the ground beside her.

Rex craned his helmeted head and looked at Ruby. "You all set, shiny?"

"I've got my rifle and armor." Ruby raised her gun for emphasis. "Anything else I should have before going out?"

Rex didn't move or say anything. Then again, he didn't need to in order to move his eyes. "The commander wants you with a sword and a frag." He pointed at a rack on the wall with the sniper case.

"A sniper with a sword?" 'Dallaire' said, if the patch on her chest plate was to be believed. "What kind of sniper has a sword?" She had an accent similar to the area around Armen.

"The kind that's used to firing on the move and in close quarters." Ruby walked past the group and toward the rack of swords. She grimaced at the extensive yet poor collection. Most of these blades were Great War quality. Jaune's when he started at Beacon was stronger than any of these. It didn't help that they were all single-bladed and Ruby was used to two on Máni Bláto. She picked up a katana and looked it over. It was a little lighter than she expected and the edge could cut through an unarmored Grimm. It would do. She picked up the corresponding back-mounted scabbard and slotted the weapon in. Ruby then looked around for the grenades and found a crate full of them. At least these were all separated in their own little boxes. From the state of everything else on the _Avenger,_ that wasn't a guarantee. Ruby clipped that to the belt she picked up with her armor then walked back toward the squad.

The doors to the hangar opened and a woman in a flight suit walked in. Her eyes focused on Ruby and she scowled. "Hey, new girl!" She marched up to the Rider with fists clenched. The name Firebrand laid on a patch on her chest. _"You_ made a mess of my floor!" She forcefully poked Ruby's chest. "If the Commander and Central didn't have you confined to quarters, I would have had you clean the mess you made with a toothbrush. _I_ had to clean it up which took away time from repairing things that _really_ matter. Next time there's a scuff anywhere on the Skyranger, you're cleaning it up." She turned around and marched toward the Skyranger.

Ruby dropped her jaw as she stared after the pilot. "Excuse me?"

"Rule twelve!" Firebrand didn't slow down and only turned her head toward Rex. "The Commander wants you all in seats for the descent. We only have three hours before those nukes are shipped out."

Rex nodded and faced the squad. "You heard the lady, load up." He turned on a heel and marched into the transport. The others walked in after him. Ruby shook her head and followed the squad. She stepped onto the ramp and took the seat on her right closest to the exit ramp. As soon as she sat down, the ramp closed and hissed as it sealed. Ruby looked up and the roller coaster-like restraints. She unlocked it, pulled it down, and locked it in place again.

"You've done this before," Rex said. It wasn't a question

Ruby faced the squad leader. Rex stood by the entrance to the cockpit. "Many times, Rex. If you've been in one military transport, you've been in them all."

"On mission, you will address me as Sergeant or Sir." Rex turned around and opened a hatch in the bulkhead separating the crew compartment from the cockpit. He pulled out what looked like over the ear comm pieces and started handing them out. "The frequency is already set," he said when he handed Ruby hers. "Don't touch it."

"Yes, sir." Ruby took it and fit it over her right ear. It felt a little weird with something on her ear instead of the functionality being incorporated into her helmet, but it would do.

"_Attention all hands,"_ Central's voice came over the Skyranger's speakers, _"we are beginning descent in ten, nine…" _The countdown continued until it hit zero and Ruby felt herself falling. It was much more extreme compared to when she felt it before, probably because they were in a hurry. Still, it took quite a long time for the _Avenger_ to descend. When it finally touched down, it wasn't a minute later until the Skyranger started rising. Considering the engines started after that, it was the elevator the craft rested on.

"_This is Firebrand, we're ready for takeoff. Keep the engine running, _Avenger._ We may need to get out of here in a hurry."_

"_Copy that, Firebrand,"_ Central responded. _"Recovery team will be right behind you."_

Ruby felt herself get pressed into her seat as the Skyranger lifted off. She was on her first mission with people she didn't know. She didn't know if she could trust them, and some of these people didn't like her. At least she'd be able to see if what Invidia said about these people was true.

As she turned her head around the crew compartment, her eyes lingered on Anderson's weapon. Unlike the other three, he and Dallaire held their weapons. While Dallaire was just cleaning her shotgun, Anderson laid his rifle across his lap with the muzzle facing the door... only a few degrees away from Ruby. That in itself was dangerous enough, but the safety was off. One of Anderson's fingers rested right outside the trigger guard. Ruby wanted to believe that was carelessness so she turned her head away. A few seconds later, she felt eyes on her. She flicked her own to Anderson in time to see him look away. That told Ruby how much she was trusted around there.

"It's so nice to have another elf here," a voice said. Ruby faced its owner, Rayla. The horned elf had an almost childlike smile on her face. Her accent sounded… Animan, not like Scarlet… heck, there was a different accent for almost every village on that continent. "Invidia's nice, but she's not a fighter… I mean, judging by your number of fingers we're not from the same world, but we still share blood." She blinked and turned her head away. "No, wait, that's not how that works."

"Sorry to burst your bubble," Ruby started, "but I'm human." Rayla snapped her head up with her jaw clamped shut. "It's just magic from my dragon." Someone else in the Skyranger scoffed.

"Dragon?" Rayla rose then leaned forward in her restraints. "Humans and dragons get along well where you're from?"

"For the most part, yeah." Ruby nodded. "Their relation isstill better with the elves, mainly because they've been around each other longer." She didn't need or want to go into the magical reasons.

"Oh… Well…" Rayla rubbed the back of her head. "Similar story here, only the dragons and elves cast out the humans for dark magic, the humans killed the King of the Dragons and kidnapped his son." Ruby blinked. That didn't sound good. "Then I helped return the Dragon Prince to his mother with the help of a few humans and now things are getting better for everyone... At least I think so. I was taken here shortly after the celebration in Katolis."

"Believe it or not," Ruby started, "I've experienced crazier."

"_Cut the chatter, Menace 1-5,"_ Bradford's voice came over the transport's speakers, _"here's the situation. On our last mission, we recovered some of ADVENT's plans to fight us and frame us. We discovered that one of those plans is to detonate nuclear warheads in city centers." _Anderson and Dallaire swore under their breaths.

Ruby froze up. Nuclear… that's what the failed power plant in Mistral was. That was the kind of radiation in Mor'ranar Vera. Add warhead to that… the mushroom cloud she saw from the _Vytal_ and what the Relic of Knowledge showed her… This was not good.

"_We believe that these are the last four nukes in existence," _Central continued. _"At the moment, they are destined for New York City, London, Moscow, and Tokyo. ADVENT's claimed they destroyed all the nukes from the Old World so it would be easy to say that we detonated these things._

"_The warheads will only be in the AO for ten minutes before they are taken away by air. They are arriving on one train and leaving on separate airships. We are expecting reinforcements to come as soon as the alarm is sounded. You will have to hold out until the nukes are disabled. If there's a window, the recovery team will head in and pick as many of them up as they can."_

Ruby raised her eyebrows in disbelief. She looked around the transport. Five soldiers against an army, four since one was going to be the one disarming the nukes. Five soldiers to hold out against who knew how many others. This thing could hold more than twice that many if people stood. There were definitely that many soldiers on the _Avenger. _Why wasn't this thing packed to the brim?

She shook her head. "Why do those weapons even exist?"

"Ask the American." Dallaire elbowed Anderson.

Anderson glared at the woman. "France had its own fair share of nukes too."

"_We have new information," _another voice came through the Skyranger, the same one that called the soldiers to the hangar. _"Anti-aircraft weaponry and sensors have been mounted to the roof of the facility you're attacking. You'll have to hit the dirt before you reach your infiltration point." _That time, Ruby picked out where she knew the voice from. It sounded like Commander Biker from Galaxy Trek.

"Shit." The Skyranger dipped forward then leveled out. "I'm dropping you one klick out, Menace. You'll have to hoof it from there." The lights in the Skyranger turned red.

Dallaire raised her head then took off her beret and held it over her heart. "The Commandy One protects." Ruby could only stare. What the heck was that?

A few minutes later, the Skyranger slowed to a stop. "Menace, ready to deploy."

"You heard the lady!" Rex freed himself from his restraints and stood up. "Everyone up. Rayla, Rose, you're the first two out."

"Works for me." Ruby pushed her restraints away, grabbed her rifle, and stood up. As soon as she did, the rear door opened and the lights turned green. Several cables dropped from the back of the Skyranger. Seemed simple enough. Ruby strapped her sniper to her back then ran down the ramp. She grabbed one of the cables and rode it to the ground. While falling, she faced where the front of the transport pointed. Sure enough, some kind of black building lay about a klick away in a forest. She dropped below the canopy, cutting off view of the facility.

Ruby touched down with Rayla right behind her. The Rider stepped away from the landing zone, grabbed her weapon, and scouted the area through the scope. No birds, no deer, no squirrels, no wildlife. The other three members of the squad touched down then the Skyranger flew off. With the engine noise gone, the Huntress started to hear the sounds of the forest. Like Invidia said, there wasn't much compared to Remnant or Du Weldenvarden.

The sniper lowered her weapon then faced Rex. "No contacts. If they didn't spot the Skyranger, I don't think they know we're here."

Rex nodded then faced the elf of the squad. "Rayla, scout ahead. Report anything not natural."

"Will do." Rayla pulled up a bandana with XCOM's logo to cover her lower face then ran off into the forest.

"_Menace, proceed into the forest," _the Commanders voice came through Ruby's earpiece. _"Stealth drone is active and is covering Rayla. Everyone else, be on guard."_

Dallaire took point with her shield and shotgun in either hand. "Suivez-moi. Keep me covered." She continued on into the Forest. Rex followed right behind her, then Anderson, then Ruby.

"_The train carrying the nukes arrives in fifteen minutes,"_ the Commander continued. _"We're expecting ADVENT to take less than that to load them all onto their airships. The base nearby will have reinforcements on site ten minutes after we alert this one. If all goes well, you and the recovery team will both be out before that happens."_ Ruby clenched her teeth. Ten minutes for four bombs? She _could_ do it, but that would be cutting it close, especially since she likely would have to fight her way through.

"Copy that, Commander," Rex responded. "If that's all, we're going dark." No response came. Menace was on their own. That at least Ruby was used to.

The squad continued to move through the forest. Ruby occasionally scouted the area through her weapon's scope. She kept an eye on Rayla while doing so. The elf was good. If Ruby didn't know she was there, she wouldn't be able to find Rayla. About ten minutes into the slow hike, Ruby caught a pair of black helmets accompanying a red. "Contact, three o'clock, one hundred yards out. They're just outside the tree line.

The squad halted and took a knee. Rex drew his pistols and brought a hand to his head. "Rayla, can you take them out without being seen?"

"_If there were two, yes,"_ Rayla answered. _"Three, not without alerting the facility."_

"I can help with that." Ruby faced Rex. "I wasn't exactly known for stealth, but I am known for speed. I can take care of them."

Rex stared at Ruby for a second before nodding. "Do it."

Ruby dashed into the forest as silently as she could. She reached Rayla's position without making a sound and with ADVENT's soldiers still being a good distance away. The Rider scanned the surrounding area for more hostiles. It looked like everyone was focused on the train line or somewhere else not in the squad's direction. Satisfied, Ruby faced Rayla. "I'll take the far one. You get the other two. Wait for them to pass."

"Got it." Rayla drew her twin blades and Ruby her one. Ruby ducked behind a tree and waited for the patrol to pass. Once they did, Ruby stepped out behind them. Once Rayla was in a position she liked, Ruby jumped at the red armored Officer. She wrapped her sword around the soldier's neck and pulled. Before he could scream, Ruby clamped a hand over his mouth. She pulled the struggling soldier back into the trees and didn't let go until he fell still.

As the Officer fell to the ground, Ruby couldn't help but think that was her first kill like that. That was the work of spec ops, spooks, someone else not her. Part of her wanted to be disgusted at the act. Another larger part said it was necessary.

Rayla dropping her two kills on the ground brought Ruby back to the present. "Patrol is gone, Sergeant. You're clear to advance." The elf stared at her kills before shaking her head.

"First two?" Ruby asked.

Rayla shook her head. "Four and five." She sighed. "Where I come from, I'm an assassin, but I never... _killed_ anyone before I came here. It's…"

"Doesn't feel as good as you thought?" Rayla hesitated before nodding. "Good. Killing is terrible. If it ever feels good, your weapons should be taken away."

"You seemed pretty comfortable with yours."

Ruby grimaced before facing the facility. "I've killed more than I can count. I'm good at it. That doesn't mean I have to like it." She raised her weapon and looked through the scope. Several footfalls came about half a minute later.

"Rose, report," Rex ordered.

Ruby ran through the terminology Invidia ran her through since she was brought on board. "I'm counting three pods. One with two Troopers and an Officer, trade a Trooper for a Lancer in another." She shifted her scope to the roof of the facility. "Sectioid, and two Vipers… though one of them's purple."

"I don't care what color they are," Anderson said. "I wouldn't mind getting wrapped up by one of them if you know what I mean."

Ruby barely suppressed a gag. _It's like CRDL without the obvious attacks._

"Stow it." Rex crouched next to Ruby. "We have two minutes until the train arrives. Wait until the nukes are off them before opening fire. Rose, those Vipers are good shots. Take them out."

"Copy that." Ruby sighted up the purple one… why was it hanging its head? She pulled back on the zoom level to focus on the full pod. It looked like the Sectoid was yelling at it, however that worked with that inhuman mouth. The green and tan Viper was glaring at it as well. The purple snake stiffened and brought a gun into view over the edge of the roof. The Sectoid and the other Viper turned away. Purple hung it's head again and judging by the way its upper body hung, it's weapon hung by its side. Take that one out last. The pod disappeared behind the line of transports on the roof.

The train arrived right on time and the squad started to move forward. Ruby stayed back to have a better shot on those on the roof. The first pod she called out approached the train and the freight car opened its door. Another pod stepped out… the armor said they were two Troopers and an Officer but they were in green. Ruby zoomed in further. These new soldiers had biohazard facemasks covering the normally exposed parts of their faces. The symbol also covered their armor. Ruby brought a hand up to her earpiece. "Be advised, new hostiles look like they can take a biohazard leak. Looks like they're a little more armored too." Her earpiece just clicked twice.

The two pods started unloading the train. They pulled out black and red boxes with ADVENT's 'helmet logo' printed all over them. Those had to be the nukes. Ruby returned her aim to the enemies on the roof. That pod stared over the edge at the new arrivals. Thankfully the green Viper blocked view of the purple so Ruby sighted in on that one. Ruby kept her ears open for a gunshot.

A single crack filled the air and Ruby pulled her trigger. Her weapon kicked back and she watched the tracer fly through the air… and miss by twenty feet. Ruby swore under her breath as she adjusted the scope. "Who set this thing up? Grrrr. Should have found a range." She raised her weapon again and lined up on the same target. As she watched, the Viper took a trio of bullets beneath the chin but it didn't fall, despite the blood pouring out of it. It aimed at someone on the ground.

Ruby pulled her trigger again and this time her shot flew into the alien's head. The Viper toppled backward and out of sight. "One Viper down."

"_Good kill, Rose,"_ the Commander said in her ear. The squad wasn't quiet anymore, no need to keep quiet on the comms. _"The other one retreated to the transports and the Sectoid dropped down. "We need you to provide support for the rest of the squad."_

"On it." Ruby left her cover and sprinted toward the facility. The rest of Menace traded fire with the ADVENT on the ground. One of the green Troopers and two of the regulars were down. That still left seven active enemies against five. The Lancer charged out from behind cover toward the squad. Ruby stopped in place, raised her rifle, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew true and into the soldier's helmet. The Lancer fell to the ground but pushed itself up right away. A single shot from Rex finished it off.

Just as Ruby was about to join her squad, she saw a circular object fly through the air. "Grenade!" Dallaire called. The grenade landed close to Rayla. The elf just stared at it and cocked her head. It exploded, sending green stuff everywhere. Rayla screamed the second it touched her skin. She ran out from behind the truck she hid behind to a wall with a red hologram coming out of it.

Ruby slid into cover behind an unused forklift and scanned for enemies. The two remaining Troopers stood side by side providing suppressing fire. It didn't look like they noticed her yet.

"_Rex, Dallaire,"_ the Commander started. _"Suppress those troopers. Rose, frag 'em."_

_You read my mind, Commander. _Ruby unhooked her grenade and pulled the pin. As soon as the troopers ducked behind cover, Ruby let the lever go. She threw the grenade and it rolled so it just reached the other side of the containers. It exploded and took a good chunk of those metal crates with them. Ruby blinked. _I've got to get some of these for Nora._

"Nice throw, Ro- Behind you!" Anderson shouted.

Ruby turned the other way and sighted up the missing Sectoid. The alien pointed at her. The sniper pulled the trigger to receive a dead man's click. "What?" Ruby yanked the weapon away from her head. "What kind of mag has only three rounds?" She looked back up. The Sectoid threw it's head back then launched it forward. Purple energy erupted out of its oversized head. It flew right to Ruby… but she didn't feel a thing.

"Not even if I wasn't suppressed." Ruby threw her rifle down and drew her sword. She charged the creature as it recoiled. It tried to raise the gun mounted on its arm but it was too slow. With a primal yell, Ruby jumped, swung her blade back, then down at the Sectoid's neck. Her sword didn't even slow as it passed right through. Ruby landed then looked at the roof of the facility, ignoring the two fleshy splats behind her. There was still a sniper up there.

"_Rose, there's a stairway just inside the building," _the Commander offered.

The Huntress eyed up the building. Primarily one story with a smaller building on top. A shipping container rested up against the building. "Who needs stairs?" Ruby sheathed her sword then ran for the container. While she didn't have her Aura for added strength, she was still fit enough for some entry-level parkour. Her armor would barely slow her down.

Ruby jumped for the container and pulled herself up. She did the same for the roof, only she rolled once she cleared the edge. The Viper stood on the other side of the smaller building fifty feet away with its weapon facing Ruby. It yelped when their eyes met then ducked behind the building. Ruby drew her sword and ran for the hostile. Before she made it halfway, the Viper's gun clattered to the roof.

The sniper slowed to the stop. That was unexpected. Ruby held her sword in front of her as she approached the corner. She whipped around with her sword behind her head... but she stopped herself from bringing it down. The Viper's torso stood hunched over with its tail coiled. Its shaking hands rested on the back of its neck. More of its skin and scales covered its fangs than normal. It looked up at Ruby and the Huntress lowered her weapon. The fear in that Viper's eyes… Ruby had seen that too many times. It was calling for help.

Ruby tapped her earpiece. _"Avenger, _are you seeing this? This Viper's… surrendering." The innemiate response was scoffing from Anderson and Dallaire. _"Avenger,_ orders?"

"_Knock it out and take it with you."_ The Commander sounded exasperated. _"Unlike ADVENT, we don't execute the defenseless."_

Ruby crossed her jaw then flipped her sword to a reverse grip. She brought her weapon up then slammed the pommel down on the Viper's head. The snake crumpled and lay limp on the ground. The Huntress stepped back then looked at the gun the Viper dropped. Just as she was about to pick it up, the thing shook and sparked. Smoke rose from the receiver right after. Asset denial. Of course, they would think of that.

"_Status confirmed,"_ Central said over the comms. _"All hostiles are down and the area is secured, but not for long. Reinforcements are seven minutes out. Our recovery team is inbound. Load those nukes and any material you can then get the heck out of there." _

That solved that. Ruby sheathed her sword then picked up the Viper. She ran with her cargo to the stairs she bypassed before then out the front of the building. Anderson already knelt in front of one of the crates with his robot flying closer than him. Ruby set her prisoner down then jogged to another of the crates.

The Huntress opened the side and stared at a control panel with red numbers counting down. "Shit. Commander, this one's set to blow in one minute." Ruby tore off the panel and looked around inside. Ignition, detonation, power, timer control. If only things were that simple. Bombs were different back on Remnant. This could run by completely different rules. She grabbed the red wire she thought was the one that connected the timer to the detonator and closed her eyes. "Please let this be the right one." Ruby yanked the wire out and braced herself.

Several clicks came from the bomb. Ruby opened her eyes to see what was going on. Nothing moved from what she saw but something was happening. _"Squaddie Rose,"_ Tygan's voice came over the comms, _"whatever you just did took that nuke offline. It's no longer in any danger of detonation."_

Ruby sighed then picked up the panel. She froze. "Uh, it's still counting down. Ten seconds." No one said a word. That's when she noticed the sound of two very different engines. One was loud like the Bullheads she was used to, the other sounded quiet and sleek like some of the new Atlesian models. But that wouldn't matter. Only a Wyvern would be fast enough. Three, two, one… The clock blinked zero. "Not like the movies. Got it. We're clear, Commander." Ruby fit the panel back into place. "Now for the others…"

* * *

**Yep... That easy... kind of goes off my hope that nukes have more ways to disable them than detonate them than detonate them... and this is only chapter three, not fifty three.**

**Also, once again, my Bison reign victorious is Frisco! 3-peat, take 2! The DYN8STY continues! GO 8ISON! This is GR8! And that's as many 8 puns as I got.**


	4. Labels

**Last time out, I said my mom went in for cancer surgery. I'm happy to report that the cancer is gone. Find it quick, it can be treated.**

**Now from that happy thing to something... not.**

* * *

Ruby ran her natural arm across her forehead. "That's the last one." She stepped back and looked over the four boxed nukes. "You reading anything, _Avenger?"_

"_We are not detecting any outgoing transmissions or anything to access remotely,"_ Shen said over comms. _"But we are too far away to detect any leaks. Anderson, your Gremlin has Geiger protocol, right?"_

"Sure does." Anderson approached the crate and Ruby backed away. The man's Gremlin flew to the first crate and just hung there. After a few seconds, it flew to the next and did the same thing. It repeated the process for the last two before returning to its operator. Anderson looked at the screen on his right wrist. "Cortana says we're clear. No leaks. They're safe to move."

"_Copy that,"_ the Commander said. _"Help the recovery team load them onto their transport then get out of there."_

Ruby dropped her jaw. Load them up? Take them with? She turned her head to the transport that accompanied the Skyranger. The recovery team's transport was a bulky, black thing. Four vertical struts were attached to the four corners. The rotors on them said they folded to wings. Only a blue five-pointed star with a white line running along an inch inside the outside edge broke up the black. The recovery team… was loading corpses of the dead aliens and ADVENT onto it. Invidia said XCOM took them for RnD but seeing that felt even more wrong. Ruby faced the nukes again. They wanted these things too?

"Why do you want these things, Commander?" Ruby asked with her comms live.

"_Because I do, Squaddie." _That growl could have made a Creep back off. _"Either help them out or pick up your sniper and your prisoner. Just don't get in the way."_

Ruby grimaced and shook her head. She walked away from the nukes and toward where the threw her sniper. Nukes, corpse scavenging, she wanted no part of it. She picked up her discarded weapon and ejected the magazine. Judging by the grooves inside, there _was_ only room for three bullets. They were a pretty high caliber, but unless things were lined up right, that was only three kills per mag. That probably wouldn't be enough. The sniper groaned and slammed the magazine home. She'd need to do something about that if that meant making everything herself.

She slung the weapon over her shoulders and turned her head toward where the unconscious Viper still lay. Ruby walked over to it and stared at the still form. Its eyes were closed and its chest moved ever so slowly… Also, why the heck did it have human-like boobs? Most mammals had some version but nowhere close to something like _that._

Ruby groaned and picked the Viper up bridal style. The alien was surprisingly light, though the dragging tail made it awkward to carry. She got a few weird looks from the recovery team but just ignored the people in worn down construction gear. Over the comms, she faintly heard someone say the reinforcements just took off from the nearby base. XCOM would be long gone by the time they arrived. At least that went right.

The sniper stepped onto the Skyranger and froze at the top of the ramp. Rayla sat on the far side of the crew compartment but the side that faced Ruby was hardly recognizable. The horn on the right side of her head was half-melted into her hair. Skin and beyond could be seen through what should have been solid breastplate. Her right arm was burned right down to the bone in some places. Her face was in much the same condition. Whatever it was in that grenade did a number on her. It was a wonder she was still alive.

Firebrand stepped out of the cockpit and stopped midway into her turn toward the elf. "Why the hell is _that_ thing in here?" She gestured her right hand and the med-pack she held toward the Viper.

"Would you rather have it in here with the trained soldiers or with the recovery team?" Ruby turned to the left and set the unconscious Viper down in one of the seats. She pulled the restraints down, making sure its arms were pinned beneath it.

The pilot growled. "The recovery team has soldiers… but not nearly as well trained as ours."

"Glad we agree on something." Ruby faced Firebrand. "I've got some pretty substantial medical training. I can take care of her."

Firebrand gave Ruby a look. She then shook her head and stood up, leaving the pack on the floor. "The spray is an aerosol painkiller. Apply as much as you can to the wounded areas." She stepped into the cockpit muttering something under her breath.

Ruby opened the pack and her eyes settled on the largest thing in there. She pulled out an oversized and possibly overengineered spray can. Then again, medical tech wasn't her strong suit. That was Velvet's area. Ruby faced her patient. "Hold on. I'm going to take the pain away." Rayla's eyes stared off to the side, no acknowledgment. Ruby pulled the bottle's trigger and a fine blue mist burst out and onto the elf's face. Rayla sagged a little on contact. The Rider then slowly moved the spray down the elf's body, taking care to make sure every injured area was covered in at least a thin layer of the painkiller. The bottle clicked dry just as Ruby covered the last area.

Rayla sighed. "That's some strong stuff." Her voice sounded weak and scratchy.

"Hey." Ruby stood up and rested a hand on the uninjured half of Rayla's body. "Don't talk. Save your energy." She took a look at Rayla's neck. "Looks like you're lucky to have any vocal cords at all. Just stay quiet and don't move. No need to make your injuries any worse." Rayla jerked her head up and down.

Ruby sighed and put the spray back in the med-pack. She looked around the rest of it and her jaw dropped. Besides that spray, there was pretty much nothing of note. Just a bunch of small bandages, a wrap or two, and a couple pill bottles labeled 'Advil,' 'Tums,' and 'Tylenol.' She growled and shoved her weapons into the slots by the seat between the elf and the Viper. "I swear, unless that spray is part magic…"

"Magic?" Rayla whispered. She turned her head toward Ruby.

"I told you to stay quiet." Ruby shot the elf a weak glare then nodded. "And yeah, magic." She raised her natural hand and stared at it. "If I had access to it, I'd be able to heal you up before we got back to the _Avenger. _Then again, you probably already knew that from Invidia." Rayla grunted then her head lolled to the side.

Rex, Anderson, and Dallaire stepped onto the Skyranger. "RT's ready to go," Rex announced. "Firebrand, let's get out of here before their reinforcements finally show up." He stayed standing while the other two took empty seats across from Ruby.

"Copy that boss," Firebrand called. _"Skyranger to_ Avenger,_ all XCOM operatives are accounted for. Returning to base."_

"_Copy that, Firebrand,"_ Central said. _"We'll have a medical team on standby to receive Rayla."_

"_Good work, everyone,"_ the Commander said. _"It appears ADVENT's overconfidence worked in our favor once again. If they didn't think one of the nukes would explode, those reinforcements would have been on top of you just as you took off."_

Anderson laughed. "They should have armed more nukes. We'd all be dead if more than one of them was counting down."

"Serves them right for taking a twenty-five- percent shot," Dallaire snickered.

"_Even we can have luck on our side every once and a while."_ The Commander paused. _"I know some of you may be wondering why I want those nukes. Some of you wonder out loud."_ Ruby grimaced. _"I will tell you what I am announcing to the entire ship. I don't want any of those nukes on the _Avenger._ I want them dismantled. They generally have no use in our war doctrine. However, situations may arise when using a nuke is the best way to destroy a target, say, one of their battleships. I don't know how we'd manage to get one inside, but it's still a possibility. Until such a time we can bring UFOs down without that kind of firepower, we are holding onto those nukes." _The comms went silent.

Rayla groaned. "Who got the one who got me?"

"I think it was the newbie," Anderson said… once again, he rested his rifle across his lap, safety off, this time pointing it between Ruby and the Viper.

"Yeah, and you've got a funny way of thanking me for doing so." Ruby gestured at the weapon. "Put that thing away before you kill someone."

Anderson narrowed his eyes and gripped his weapon. "You'd like that, wouldn't you, _Avatar?"_

"Can it," Rex ordered. His helmeted head faced Anderson alone. "I hoped you'd gotten smarter after the battle. Looks like you need to go through a proper weapons training course again."

Anderson dropped his jaw and glared up at Rex. "You can't be serious."

"I wish I wasn't." Rex crossed his arms. "Are you going to show me how to handle a weapon or am I going to have to show you in front of the squad?" The soldier scowled, then ticked on the safety and slid it into a slot beside his seat. "Good. You're not a complete lost cause."

"Hey, Menace," Firebrand called into the crew compartment, "looks like the news already picked up on what we did. Patching it through."

The speakers in the Skyranger clicked on and played what sounded like a breaking news sounder. _"XCOM radicals have raided a supply depot tasked with the distribution of critical supplies for gene therapy clinics around the globe,"_ a female voice said._ "Residents in Moscow and Tokyo will be affected the most. ADVENT leadership would like to assure the residents of those cities that the supplies will be delivered before the end of next month."_

Dallaire whistled. "Merde. Medical supplies. Doc and Points will be glad to hear that."

"And Shen won't." Rex reached up and grabbed one of the bars on the ceiling as the transport hit turbulence. "I read up on your nukes on the flight to the facility. They're weak compared to what I'm used to, but a lot more volatile."

Ruby rolled her whole head. "That's reassuring." Movement to her right caught her eye. She turned her head toward it. The Viper's head was moving. "Sergeant, it's waking up!" The snake turned its head toward Ruby as if it heard her voice.

"So it is." Rex moved to stand in front of the Viper and held his arms across his chest. "I suggest moving, Rose. These things spit poison and they can bite."

"Copy that." Ruby unsecured her restraints and pushed them away. Before she could stand up, the Viper opened its eyes. They were groggy and unfocused but still locked with Ruby's. The alien then… smiled? Was that a happy hum? Why did its tongue loll out if its mouth?

"Viper, eyes up," Rex ordered. The Viper complied and its eyes lost their haze. It blinked and tried to move but its restraints kept it in place. It yelped and it tried to pull itself out. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Rex rested a hand on one of his pistols. The Viper silenced and the sides of its head drooped. A whimper escaped its throat. "Good. You know your situation. The only reason you're not dead is because you threw down your weapon. Here's what's going to happen to you now. You're going to…" Rex trailed off.

Dallaire growled and forced up her restraints. "It's psionic!" She grabbed her shotgun, chambered a slug, and pointed it directly at the Viper's face. The alien yelped and turned its head away. It also managed to pull its arms up to protect its face. Before it closed its eyes, Ruby caught the emotion inside. Complete fear and panic. The way it slumped and contorted itself in its seat… Ruby had seen that look before on too many people. Ever since Violet, she fought to end that look on everyone she could. She'd be damned if she participated in that crime.

"Hey!" Ruby stood up and pushed Dallaire's gun away. "What the hell are you thinking?"

Dallaire's glare could have punched through an Ursa. "Va te faire enculer, Avatar." A fist came up and connected beneath Ruby's chin. Back on Remnant, that wouldn't have phased her. Without Aura and wards, she stumbled backward and fell at Rayla's feet. "Now we know who's side you're on."

Ruby growled and started to push herself up. Before she made it halfway, Anderson pointed his assault rifle at her head. "You should listen to her, you know."

"And both of you should listen to me." Rex drew both his pistols and aimed them at the two with the guns. "Either of you pull your triggers, you will hit the floor before your spent shells do." He focused his helmeted head on Ruby. "What did you see?

The Huntress looked past Rex' visor to where she thought his eyes were. "A terrified civilian."

Rex stared at Ruby for a few more seconds before nodding. "They look the same no matter the species." He turned his head between the two insubordinates. "Both of you will put your weapons down. Now."

"The salope is psionic!" Dallaire protested. "It's too dangerous to be left alive."

"Too bad for you, that's exactly how the Commander wants it." Rex paused. "Here's what's going to happen. You two are going to lower your weapons and I might not tell the Commander about your insubordination." He turned his helmeted head toward Ruby. _"You_ are going to secure the Viper's hands and stay in your seat's restraints until we reach the _Avenger."_ He looked around the cabin. "Do I make myself clear?"

No one moved for a tense few seconds before Dallaire scoffed and sat down in her own seat. She slammed her shotgun back into its slot. Anderson groaned and did the same thing. Rex holstered his pistols then looked at Ruby. "We typically don't take prisoners. Use the medical tape."

Ruby mentally growled then pushed herself up. She grabbed the first aid kit and pulled out the medical tape. The Rider faced the Viper, surprised to see it's arms already outstretched and eyes wide. Apparently it understood Vytalian, or English as it was called on this planet. "For the record, I don't think this is necessary." Ruby started wrapping the Viper's arms. "You don't strike me as a-" The Viper's mouth opened a fraction and its tongue darted out. Before Ruby could move, it… licked her right cheek. The Viper hummed again. That was… unexpected. "You're welcome?" She shook her head and continued to secure the alien's hands. She didn't need to think about that.

When she was satisfied that no normal person with that hand structure could make it out of the makeshift restraints, Ruby put the tape away and sat back down. She pulled her restraints down and stared straight ahead. So much for making a good first impression. She knew she should have cared but she didn't. She wasn't going to apologize for doing her job. The few times White Fang soldiers surrendered she offered them every courtesy… Nevermores never did. She was happy about that then. Doing something about them now would be therapy.

The rest of the flight was spent in silence. People only interacted through glares. It sounded like Rayla fell asleep a few minutes after the fight. But Ruby felt eyes on her that weren't threatening. She turned her head to the right. The Viper stared at her in a way Ruby almost recognized. If it was just about anyone besides Cerise, Aaron, or Crey, it would have felt like she was being eyed by a creeper. Why didn't this? Why did it feel _comforting?_ If a chip in her head could separate her from Cerise, why didn't it stop whatever this Viper was doing?

The Skyranger banked and slowed down, pressing Ruby into her seat for a few seconds. It touched down and the back ramp hissed open. Rex stepped out and Invidia rushed inside. The Huntress stayed in her seat as Anderson helped Rayla out of the transport and to a three-person medical team, with Invidia being the only one among them that had substantial medical knowledge. Dallaire glared daggers at Ruby as she passed and followed the procession into the _Avenger._

Rex stepped back onto the Skyranger as Ruby finally stood up. "The Commander wants to see you," he said. "He didn't say why."

Ruby tapped her earpiece and heard some feedback. "I'm still online. Why didn't he tell me himself?"

"Do you know where his office is?"

The Rider gave Rex a sideways nod. "Fair enough. Lead the way."

Rex turned around and walked down the ramp. Ruby grabbed her weapons, holstered them, and followed her Sergeant. They waited for the elevator to return and only rode it down one level. Ruby had been everywhere on that floor except the bridge and some engineering sections. The Commander probably wouldn't be working in the guts of the ship. That only left the bridge, a place Ruby didn't yet have access to. She didn't know what being ordered there meant in this circumstance.

The Sergeant held his forearm to a scanner by the door to the bridge then hit a few things on the control panel. The doors jerked, hissed, then slid into the nearly two-foot thick walls. The two stepped in and Ruby looked around. About a dozen people either sat or stood at several computer stations around the bridge. Ruby could only guess what they were all doing. A square table stood in the center of the room with a hologram of a planet projected above it. Bradford held his chin in his right hand as he stared at a red dot in the center of a continent. He didn't pay the newcomers any mind.

"Up there." Rex pointed at a door on an upper level. He led the way around the center of the bridge to a set of stairs to a catwalk. He knocked on the door three times.

"Come," a man on the other side called. Rex nodded at Ruby then stepped aside.

Ruby pressed a button and the door slid open. She stepped inside and the door closed around her. Unlike most other parts of the ship, this room served a double purpose. The half she stood in was set up like a conference room. An array of chairs and couches surrounded a table with plenty of maps and schematics piled on top. On the other side, a tattered red flag with the XCOM logo hung next to a bed. Space was at a premium, but did those things need to be in the same place?

The Rider focused her gaze on the only other person in the room. The Commander wore what appeared to be standard military forest camouflage fatigues. Four silver stars adorned his right shoulder. His straight and rigid posture spoke of his military experience yet the cane he held in his right hand said not everything was right. His bushy black beard connected to his hair… now that Ruby thought about it, the Commander could have been Commander Biker's twin. If she hadn't met people from other dimensions, she would have said that was impossible.

"You have put me in several tough positions, Squaddie Rose," the Commander said while staring at a text filled screen. "You break out of a pod, making my soldiers have to worry about extracting you. A Chosen called you Avatar, a mysterious project ADVENT is working on that we only know the name of. Then today, you find a Viper that surrendered, a first for any of our enemies we've met in the field. Shen and everyone that can hold a wrench scrambled to turn one of the cargo holds into a cell that _might _be able to hold that thing."

The screen in front of the Commander turned off and he turned around. His glare rested solely on Ruby. "Besides those kills you picked up, you've given me no reason to trust you. Even that doesn't mean anything. Less than a month after I returned, I saw a resistance fighter melt then rise as a blob of mutated flesh _after_ it killed two of ADVENT's soldiers. Invidia's stories about you are the only reasons that you weren't locked in your room after we brought you aboard."

Ruby crossed her arms. "I understand that you don't trust me. I wouldn't trust me if I met me under these circumstances. Give me a chance to earn it."

"You will have plenty of chances. One of them is being locked up as we speak. If that thing doesn't try to kill any of us, that's points for you for rescuing a civilian." The Commanders' eyes focused on Ruby's face. "I saw that thing lick you on Rex' feed. How are you feeling?"

"Normal. It felt like a dog's kiss, really. Nothing special about that." Ruby paused. "How do we know what the Viper's motives are? Anyone here speak Alien?"

The Commander grunted. "I'm working on that. Right now, I'm more worried about you." He started walking toward Ruby with a slight limp. His use of the cane kept him moving with close to military precision. "Despite my reservations, you're a damn good shot and we need all the guns we can get in the field." He stopped right in front of Ruby. "I'm promoting you to corporal, effective immediately."

Ruby blinked. "Wow. After that whole tirade, you still want to do that."

"I can easily change my mind, Rose. Lip service like that can leave you high and dry."

"Anderson and Dallaire already wanted to do that. Heck, Anderson had his gun trained on me on both flights. What a way to welcome a new girl." Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Was that him or was he under orders?" The Commander just straightened and raised his chin. "Ah. You _really_ don't trust me. If that's how you treat people you want to fight for you, I'd hate to see how you treat criminals."

"You're already seeing it." The Commander held his free hand out to his side. "That's exactly how you're being treated." Ruby let her jaw fall open. "Dallaire used to sell narcotics in Lyon. Anderson hacked a company called Google, though they would never admit that. Look at where they are. We have criminals of all kinds on this ship and very few actual soldiers."

Ruby clenched her fists. "What kind of operation are you running here?"

"One that needs as many guns and willing bodies as possible. Invidia's told me about your previous job. Before the Aliens invaded, I would have wanted all of them behind bars as well. But we don't have the luxury to pick and choose our fighters." The Commander turned around. "We're done here. You're dismissed." He walked back toward the screen he was inspecting when Ruby initially came in.

The Rider glared after him for a few more seconds before shaking her head and turning around. She stopped just before leaving the Commander's office. "I'm sure you know that Viper's psionic. I've built something that can suppress those abilities on my world. I'm offering XCOM that same tech." She left the room before getting a response.

That whole thing could have gone better. Ironwood at his worst was more cooperative than that. At least James made sense. None of this did. Then again, James never had to fight an actual alien invasion. Ruby marched through the bridge, ignoring any looks that crewmen threw her way. She didn't care what those people thought of her… yet anyway. The Rider left the bridge without being stopped and began the long walk back to her room. She could vent her frustrations in there.

Ruby stayed silent until she reached her room, and then only a low growl left her mouth. She stalked over to her bunk, grabbed her pillow and screamed into it. She tried to reach out to her dragon with her mind. Feeling absolutely nothing, she screamed like she'd been shot. She fell to her knees and then sideways to the floor. The pillow slipped from her hands as she loosened her grip. She thought her mood swings were bad when she was pregnant with Angel. That was nothing. This… she had no one to lean on. No one to latch onto. No one to hold her close. "Cerise…."

Ruby stayed on the floor, unwilling to move. At some point, she felt the _Avenger _take off and fly to who knew where. She didn't know how long she was on the floor before her door opened. The Rider jerked her head up and faced the door. Invidia stood just inside the room with a sympathetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry to intrude, Shadeslayer." Invidia let the door close behind her. She held her hands in front of her while holding some type of tablet. "Central asked that I brief you on some of our post-mission protocols. If this is a bad time, I can come back later."

"There's never going to be a good time, Invidia." Ruby pushed herself up and ran an arm over her eyes. "How's Rayla?"

"She'll survive without scars." Invidia sat on Ruby's bunk and set the tablet beside her. "My magic may be subdued, but I am still capable of healing that kind of injury."

"That's good to hear." Ruby pulled herself up and onto her bed. "So what is it you do here?"

"It's fairly similar to what the Riders do for operations not related to things that involve any of Remnant's governments." Invidia picked up the tablet and handed it to Ruby. "Only instead of speaking with your superior, you say your piece into a recording device and submit it to Central. He, the Commander, and possibly Tygan and Shen, will review the logs as necessary and as time allows."

Ruby turned on the tablet and looked on the home screen. There were a few basic apps with the video and audio logs taking up four slots apiece. "So mission details and physical and mental health?"

Invidia nodded. "Just like the shakedowns, only less formal than before."

"From what I got from the Commander, I'm surprised that's like that." Ruby put the tablet to sleep then set it down on her bed. "Thank you. I'll take care of this when I can."

"You're welcome." Invidia paused. "I heard you received a promotion from the Commander."

"Yeah." Ruby shook her head. "After all that talk, he still needs me."

"Congratulations. You should know it's tradition around here to give soldiers nicknames once they reach that rank, though it's typically given by the other soldiers."

"Shadeslayer. I know some people will want to call me Avatar, but too bad for them. I've had that title for years. I won't have an insult be my nickname."

"I'll make sure it gets passed around." Invidia shifted where she sat. "Has the Commander told you of our future plans?"

"He made it quite clear that he doesn't trust me and that he had Anderson ready to shoot me on a moment's notice." Ruby scowled. "After everything he says you told him."

"He may not trust you, but I do. We are planning to rescue an ADVENT defector named Mox-"

Ruby raised a palm toward Invidia. "He may not trust me but he trusts you." She let her hand fall. "Don't break that trust. Not even for me."

Invidia's mouth hung open then she nodded. "Of course." She stood up. "I will leave you to your work, Shadeslayer." She turned and walked out of the room.

The Rider picked up the tablet and shrugged. She might as well get this taken care of now. Ruby opened the video recording app an started a new file. A red circle lit up on her screen. "Ruby Rose' log, July 29, 2035." She flicked her eyes to the date and time on the tablet and scoffed. "Same date, besides the year anyway. How'd I get that lucky? Same months even. So much easier than Alagaësian conversion.

"Anyway, we were brought out to a small logistics facility where ADVENT planned on deploying nukes from." Ruby grimaced. "I still can't believe those things exist. Commander, for the record, I think we should destroy those things. I was present when something like that detonated. My daughter barely survived one. The sooner those things are off this ship, the better.

"Onto the mission itself, it went pretty well. Four or five kills for me despite it being the first time I even used those weapons. The Viper we captured…" Ruby sighed. "It wasn't as bad as Violet or any of my mountain kids, but I recognized the look. That Viper was terrified… and I just volunteered to build a piece of tech that could potentially hurt it more…"

Ruby blinked and dropped her jaw as she realized something. "I don't know how many people I just killed… and I'm okay with that. I killed people and I don't feel anything." She lowered the tablet and brought her free hand to her head. When she was in a fight before, it took a while afterward for it to kick in. That time passed long ago. She _knew_ she should have felt something, sadness, regret, pain… She had all those but none were related to the killing. "Cerise, I need you back…" She blinked and stared at the still recording tablet. Ruby ended the recording and threw the tablet to the other side of her bed. She saw so much of Yang get destroyed before her sister stabilized, but that was with the help of her family. "I'm falling… oh God, give me something…"

* * *

**Ah, the lengths the good guys will go to win. Still got to figure out some more typical 'undesirables' to show up... Heck, if you have a sacrificial lamb idea or_ Avenger_ crew idea, let me know. I'd like to fill the ship up a little more.**

**Be sure to like, comment, subscribe... eh, follow, review, favorite? Doesn't have the same ring to it... I should leave the jokes to the professionals.**


	5. Inhibition

**Thank you for joining me during the COVID-19 crisis that's currently gripping the world. As long as you're not hoarding toilet paper or other cleaning supplies, you're welcome here. (Seriously, it's a respiratory disease! It doesn't make everything liquid!) I'm still working, and I will be until the city or someone at the federal level closes all non-essential businesses. At least I've got that... and I bought toilet paper last month.  
**

**Too much reality? Yeah, onto this.**

* * *

_"Get away from her!" Ruby yelled as she strained against the Grimm that held her._

_Salem laughed as she stood over the bloodied and beaten dragon. "Oh, you are so pathetic." She ran the flat of her black sword, Relic of Destruction, over her left hand, leaving a red stain on her white skin. "None of your friends were able to beat me. How could you and your weakling dragon?"_

_Cerise groaned as she tried to stand but her front legs gave out. She settled for glaring up at the Shade. Why didn't she say anything? Why wasn't she looking at her Rider? She should have…_

_The Shade stepped onto Cerise' snout and raised her sword. "Now, watch your dragon die, Shadeslayer!"_

_"No! Don't!" Ruby struggled against the Grimm even more and tried to freeze everything but her and her soulmate. But the energy never came. She could only watch as the sword fell toward her dragon's neck. "NOOOOOO-_

"-OOOOOO!" Ruby sat up so fast in her bed she hit her head on the metal bunk above her. She fell back down onto her hard mattress and brought her hands to her aching head. Considering the other pain she had inside her head, she considered slamming herself into it a few more times so her actual pain wouldn't feel nearly as bad.

As soon as her forehead stopped throbbing, she pulled her hands away from her head. Her natural hand had a thin red line down the center of her palm. She lost count of how many times she hit her head on that bunk since coming onboard the _Avenger. _That was the first time she drew blood. Give it a few minutes and her body's natural processes would stop the bleeding, if it didn't already.

Ruby kicked her legs over the edge of her bed and sat up. She stared at the opposite wall. Her bionic hand crept up to her neck and its fingers wrapped around. The metal felt cold on her skin. The fingers tightened around her making it difficult to breathe. It would be so easy to squeeze and join Cerise… and that one thought made her fingers relax. While no magic worked, she still felt the oath she gave Cerise after her first mission in Mountain Glen. People couldn't lie in the Ancient Language. That didn't matter whether they had access to magic or not.

The Rider sighed and stood up. She grabbed some clothes from the drawers beneath her bed. Nothing fit her well, but she couldn't exactly go into town and get a good outfit. She had to settle for what looked like old jeans and a sports team from "Eastern Washington." It was red, so it wasn't atrocious.

She picked up her loaned tablet from the one table in the room. A message lit up the screen. That was early. She opened the message and grimaced. Central ordered her to return her weapons to the armory, then report to Shen in engineering. Ruby groaned and ran her hands over her head. She needed to work on both her weapons. Standard issue wasn't good enough for her. At least she didn't need to hand her armor back… She blinked as she rubbed the top of her head. It felt like she had some peach fuzz growing out of her scalp again. It _had_ been long enough.

Ruby strapped her sword to her back and slung her sniper rifle over her shoulders. She left her room and looked around the common area. Only one other person was in the room. She had an old fashioned walkie-talkie strapped to her brown leather jacket's right shoulder. Any hair she had was covered up by her hood… and _she_ was cleaning her weapon. It was a sniper of a sort but not as high caliber as Ruby's and it was a lot shorter as well. The woman looked up and her brown eyes bored into Ruby's. The Rider knew when she was being sized up. Tournament fight, life or death, video or card games, it was all the same. Still, it had been a long time since she felt something that intense. Probably the last time the family sat down for a card game with Uncle Qrow.

She shook it off them walked into the corridor that surrounded the bridge. A few people walked around, but not as many as Ruby had seen before. She narrowed her eyes and tried to pull up the time on her bionic eye on pure habit. Of course, it didn't cooperate. Ruby growled. It was probably too early. There were no windows on this damn ship so her sense of time was all out of whack. All she had was the clocks mounted sparingly on walls or on her loaned tablet.

Ruby walked into the armory and walked over to where the sniper rifles lay. Just as she was about to put it back in the rack, she stared at the underside of the receiver. Most of the other snipers looked like they were fresh out of the factory. Ruby did her best to turn her temporary rifle back into that same condition after her mission. Most other people wouldn't be able to tell the difference. That was a problem. Ruby drew her sword and marked an 'X' on the plastic. Maybe people wouldn't take it then. Satisfied, at least for the moment, Ruby walked to the other side of the armory and returned her sword. With how marked up that one was without proper maintenance, other people wouldn't take it.

Something clanked elsewhere in the room followed by a short string of expletives. Ruby faced the Skyranger sitting in the hangar. Firebrand walked out of the transport and started yelling at one of the mechanics working on the engines. That started a mini shouting match until Firebrand's voice rose in pitch and volume. Whatever that mechanic said, it wasn't right. Ruby turned around and left the armory. Firebrand didn't need backup. She had whatever that situation was under control.

Ruby walked down to the lowest level and followed the sound to engineering. The door to the ship's 'factory' opened and more sound spilled out. The place hadn't changed much since Ruby built her new limbs. She walked up the steps into the main cargo area of the ship. An untold amount of various metals, plastics, and other assorted building materials lay in crates simply marked with black marker. A robot assembly arm stood next to a computer station lay on the left side with much more production equipment on the right. A few smaller tables with tools on them were pressed up against the bulkhead to the rest of the ship.

Shen stood at one of those tables with a blocky black pistol laying in front of her. She turned around and nodded at Ruby. "I was wondering when you were going to get here. I was about to have someone go check if you were awake."

"I didn't set an alarm." Ruby shrugged. "Didn't expect to be needed. What do you need me for? Central didn't say."

"Apparently you told the Commander that you could build a psionic suppressor." Shen picked the pistol she was working on up and brought it over to a rack of other weapons. She placed it beside another of the same pistol. "If it works on the Viper we have, he might want to use it in the field."

"Oh. That." Ruby shook her head. She didn't know why she told the Commander that. The man hated her and she didn't know if she could trust these people completely. "Well, _I've_ never built one, but I have a knack for figuring things out."

"I believe it. I still can't believe you didn't have any schematics for your limbs before you built them." Shen pressed a few things on the table she was working on. A small holographic screen appeared from the table, one of the few holograms on the ship. "Let's get to work. I can imagine the Commander wants this done ASAP."

Ruby stood in front of the computer and stared at the foreign design program. The one she used back home looked a lot more complicated than this, but at the same time, nothing on the screen in front of her looked familiar. "It might take me a minute to get used to this program." She glanced at the rack of guns as she looked over the program's tools. "That's an impressive collection. You a weaponsmith?"

"Yes and no. I can build just about anything if I have the plans, including weapons. But the Commander's said I can't spend too much time making my own arsenal. Most of those are weapons that people had when they came here." Shen grabbed one of the two identical pistols. "These were Rex'. DC-17 blaster pistols. They pack a punch, but we can't replicate their ammunition. Something about gas only found in certain gas giants." She put the 'blaster' pistol back down.

Ruby looked over the weapons again. She thought she didn't see a pattern in them… she leaned back and focused on the farthest gun. It was a pistol that looked like it was made out of wood from one of the trees near Ellesméra. Not a single straight edge marred its surface. The curve of the barrel flowed around the receiver and into the grip with only a twig acting as the trigger guard. Invidia's pistol. Ruby modified it so it could take Dust rounds since the elf spent so much time on Remnant instead of Alagaësia. "Why's Invidia's here? She can fight and it can take multiple kinds of ammo."

Shen shook her head. "It's a work of art, and I've seen the clips of her taking down quite a few ADVENT with it, but it's the wrong caliber. With our limited supplies, we can't provide ammunition to all these weapons."

"Makes sense." Ruby paused as something that had been bothering her since she came aboard poked into her thoughts again. "Shen, what do you know about time dilation?"

Ruby felt the strange look she got on the back of her head. "You ask that like it's not science fiction." Shen sounded as incredulous as her words.

"It's not. Frankly, with what I've seen and heard here, I'm starting to question the laws of physics." Ruby shook her head then focused back on the design program. "Long story short, we first discovered time dilation a few decades ago. I won't say how or why. As for why I asked, Invidia said she's been here for a few months. I saw her in Mor'ranar Vera a week before I got here. If we ever get back home, one or both of us is going to be waaaaay out of time." Ruby clenched her teeth. _Angel's all alone. Nalia has no one… will I miss Crey grow up?_ She blocked that line of thought and focused completely on the program. "I think I've got enough of a handle on this. Now the design phase. What kind of power do you use here?"

From there, the two engineers got to work. Shen focused on the power systems while Ruby focused on the mechanism to suppress 'psionics' as XCOM called it. Names aside, whatever ADVENT used when they captured Ruby sure did the trick. The Rider unfortunately had plenty of experience with being targeted by those devices. She was able to figure out how to make small arms lasers by watching the _Vytal _and other Atlesian ships fire. She could use that same expertise here. If only she had her soulmate's near-perfect memory.

The problem with that was she knew how guns worked. Thanks to Cer… the dragons and a little extra research, she understood aerodynamics better than many actual aerospace engineers. But… what the heck was psionic? EM waves? Radio? Gamma? Something else completely? Ruby still didn't understand what the collars and Aura suppression fields in prisons did. Up until now, she didn't even try to detect magic or Aura with technology. That wasn't what she cared about or what she excelled in. She would have tried to pull her hair out if she had anything besides peach fuzz.

Ruby didn't know how long she was working on the plans for the device. At some point, Shen broke off to work on the non-standard weapons again. There were a few other points where she brought Ruby food and water. Other people came and went, the Avenger changed locations, and it sounded like the Skyranger took off and landed at least once. At least the work kept her mind off the glaring absence inside.

As soon as Ruby finally thought she had something to actually work on, she sighed and backed away from her schematics. "Okay, I think I've got something here." She turned around and faced Shen. "We should be able to whip this up in an hour or two."

Shen crossed her arms. "Twelve hours of schematic work and you're ready to go? Just like that?"

Ruby shrugged. "I used to build actual fighter jets in my spare time. One of them was a gift for my sister."

Shen blinked. "Wait, is that true? I thought Invidia was exaggerating."

"No. They're the real thing. I just don't have the materials or tools to build them here."

"Okay then. You're going to have to show me your work sometime." Shen approached the workbench and looked over the schematics. "Really? Two hours?"

"I can take care of the intricate parts for the actual suppression. If you can take everything else, we'll get it done in no time."

"Can do." Shen straightened up and nodded. "Let's get this done." From there, the two engineers started to gather the proper materials from the mass stack of random metals and plastics. At least engineering had machines that could melt and mold just about anything. Ruby was so happy to see those when she built her bionics. She'd have to copy that design when she got back to Remnant. That might get some of the more extreme environmentalists off the Riders' backs.

As they waited for some steel to take shape, Ruby asked, "Is the Commander always so… abrasive?"

"Abrasive?" Shen gave Ruby a confused look before something clicked in her eyes. "Oh. Yeah. That."

"You sound like he's not always like that."

"With people he trusts, he usually only gets mad when people mess up and get themselves or someone else hurt or worse. But from the sound of it, his trust is in short supply."

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Meaning?"

Shen hesitated. "I guess it's pretty common knowledge around here. The aliens had him plugged into one of their machines for twenty years." Ruby tensed all her muscles. "When we broke him out, he found out that most of his friends in the US military were either dead or gave their loyalty to ADVENT. With how close some of them became in operations before XCOM formed…" Shen shook her head. "That's why he chewed you out."

"So _he_ comes after _me_ for potentially being an ADVENT puppet," Ruby gestured in the rough direction of the bridge, "when he was in their clutches for _decades?"_

"Yes." Shen stiffened up. "The difference is we know what they used him for. We still have no clue why that Chosen called you 'Avatar.' I'm sure that's got him more suspicious than he's been in a long time."

"I've seen people brainwashed with less tech than you have here. I'm betting these aliens can do the same."

"We have plans in place in case anyone turns on us. That gets complicated with people of your reported abilities."

Ruby shrugged. If whatever was in her head didn't affect what she could do, she could kill everyone onboard with two syllables, not that she would even think of that if there wasn't a hole in her mind. "Fair enough." She still wasn't happy with the situation, but it was better than a few of the political situations she had on Remnant. Some of those councilmen…

After a few more rounds of recycling materials into something new, the suppression machine started to take shape. It certainly wasn't portable, and it wasn't as clean as Atlesian tech, but on this ship that meant it fit right in. The question was, would it work?

When the engineers were in the process of hooking the sensitive mechanism up to the power system, the door to engineering opened. "I've got my latest haul from the latest debris section."

Shen stiffened, relaxed, then swore under her breath. "Put it with the rest, Ellis."

Ruby glanced at Shen then at the stairs into engineering. A man almost as big as her dad walked backward up the stairs pulling a… hover sled? They had that kind of tech here? Without Gravity Dust? That was something. Ruby took her eyes off the tech and focused on the man. He was covered with tattoos… including some vulgar ones Ruby wouldn't like Angel or Crey seeing. The Rider and mother narrowed her eyes. She didn't like this guy.

Ellis pulled the cart to the center of the room and pushed it into the pile of scrap. The mess wobbled but didn't topple. He backed off and vertically clapped his hands. "That's a nice day's work." He turned around and faced the engineers for the first time. He straightened as he saw Ruby. "This the 'Avatar' bitch we picked up a few days ago?"

Ruby cocked her head and looked the guy up and down. _How am I going to murder this man?_

"This_ woman_ can rip your throat out if she so chooses," Shen said deadpan as she gestured at Ruby. "I suggest you treat her with the proper respect."

Ellis stepped back, raised his hands in front of his chest, and shook his head. "MY mistake." His eyes met Ruby's… then they traveled the length of her body. "I plan on showing her the respect she deserves." He turned toward the door and walked out of engineering.

Ruby faced Shen. "Does he still have balls to shoot off?"

Shen scoffed. "'We need every able-bodied person that will fight for us.' Most of the time I see the value in that. In his case, I'm hoping he does something so the Commander or Central will let us throw him out an airlock. Unfortunately, when he does work, he's a damn fine engineer. He can follow orders, but only takes them seriously when they come from the Commander or Central."

"If only he knew what I could do." Ruby shook her head. "I would so scare him straight if I could." She paused. "Why haven't you set Invidia on him?"

"We did. He avoids her like the plague." Shen smirked. "That was fun to see."

"Wish I could have been there." Ruby faced the device again. "Back to this…" The engineers finished building the device without further interruptions. They carried it to the hover cart together, though Ruby did think about taking it herself originally to show off… so many things she wouldn't have thought about a month ago were starting to surface.

Shen led the way out of engineering while Ruby pushed the cart. At first, the Rider thought they'd be going up a few levels to the parts of the ship that weren't full of alien junk but the native engineer walked right past the elevator to deeper into the level. Then again, it made sense to keep prisoners as far away from the bridge and the weapons as possible.

Around another corner, a pair of soldiers stood against the wall. Ruby had seen them around but didn't know their names. They both had some kind of… folding Scrolls. The sounds coming from them kind of sounded like Lario Kart. They looked up, folded their Scrolls up, and grabbed their rifles from where they lay by the wall. "Shen." One of them nodded at Shen like nothing happened though a bead of sweat rolled down her head.

"At ease," Shen waved them off. "I won't say anything about it to Central if you let me in next time you two decide to race."

Both soldiers relaxed a little. "Copy that," the other one said. He then slammed a fist into a button and the door opened. Shen stepped inside and Ruby followed. The main area on the other side was fairly loud like it was right next to the engines or some other important system. Ruby still hadn't inspected the outside of the ship so she couldn't say for sure. The room itself looked like it was originally designed as a storage room. Several alcoves held even more material like the kind that was in engineering proper, but most lay empty.

One of the alcoves had glass fitted in between metal slabs coming out of the ceiling and floor. A steel door stood on the far right side of the cell. The Viper slithered on the other side of the glass with its arms crossed. It turned toward the glass but kept moving like it didn't notice the people outside. One way glass. But… something about the way it moved, the way its head hung, the look of sheer depression in its eyes… There was something familiar about it but Ruby couldn't put her finger on it. Besides that, she was even more convinced that the Viper wasn't hostile.

None of that surprised her. Invidia standing in front of the glass did. The elf stared into the cell, her head following the alien everywhere it went. Ruby left the device near the center of the room and joined the elf by the cell. _"Something wrong here?"_

_"I'm… not sure."_ Invidia glanced at Ruby. _"I'm assuming you have an idea since we are speaking in this language."_

_"You can say that."_ Ruby stared at the Viper who had now leaned in the corner of the room. As they watched, the Viper slid down the wall until it 'sat' in the corner. It brought its arms up to its head and buried its head inside them. The Rider shifted on her feet. Part of her wanted to go in there and cheer that Viper up. _"That's a very human pose."_

_"She was worse earlier." _Invidia dipped her head. _"I would say she's bordering on claustrophobia."_

_"People are saying 'she.' Better than it any day."_ Ruby paused. _"At this point, I'm convinced this Viper is a civilian. You?"_

Invidia raised her head to stare at the alien again. _"I'm not so sure."_

Ruby gave Invidia a look. _"You think that thing's a fighter?"_

_"Once she calmed down, she started looking around the room, like she was trying to escape. She was methodical, like she'd done something like that before. It wasn't like one of the escape rooms on Remnant. She was going at it like a crime scene."_

_"Well, not every member of her species can be hostile."_ Ruby stared at the Viper again. _"You able to mentally communicate with her?"_

_"I dare not."_ Invidia shook her head. _"The Viper's mind is strong, as strong as a dragon's, maybe stronger. I can defend against that, I can't fight it. She didn't like that I touched her mind either. That was the one time I saw any hostility out of her. It was almost dragonlike… though she did look through the glass like a sad puppy afterward. Still, I would rather not risk it."_

Ruby quirked her lips. _"Better make sure it can't do anything outside its cell then."_ She turned around and walked back to the hover cart. "Let's get this thing set up."

Shen looked between Ruby and Invidia. "What was that about?"

"At this point, we're convinced this Viper is a civilian and doesn't pose a direct threat to the _Avenger._ Even so, we should still set this up so she can't interfere with anything outside her cell."

"Those _are_ our orders." The engineers lifted the psionic inhibitor off the cart and laid it down by the solid wall beside the cell door. Shen opened a panel in the wall and pulled out some wires. A few minutes later, she had everything hooked up to its proper place. She looked up at Ruby. "It's your design. Care to do the honors?"

"I will." Ruby flicked the 'on' switch and grabbed the dial. She looked into the cell and at the Viper. Having a magic-user here would help as well. "Invidia, care to float a rock or something?"

Invidia walked over to one of the junk piles and grabbed a small piece of metal. "Rïsa." The scrap floated off her hand as she walked back to the cell's edge. "I'm ready."

Ruby nodded and started to turn the knob. The Viper's head immediately shot up. The scrap over Invidia's hand wobbled. Ruby kept turning the knob and the alien's face contorted in fear and pain. The Rider clenched her teeth together and kept upping the power. The Viper's mouth dropped open in either a silent or actual scream. That couldn't be allowed. Ruby turned the power to about half of where she was at that time and locked it in. Invidia saw what Ruby did and the scrap dropped to her hand. The Viper sagged against the wall and buried her head again.

"That'll do it." Ruby took her hands off the inhibitor. "Any more and that's torture."

"Geeze." Shen looked at the power setting. "Twenty percent? What can this do at a hundred?"

"Torture her." Ruby clenched her fists. "None of my tech is for that. The second it becomes that I destroy it." She walked off without another word. Even though she found herself angrier than she had been in a long time, there were lines she wouldn't cross. She'd never become the Nevermores. Everything else was up for grabs.

* * *

Ruby quickly went over the schematics that she just drew up for new laser rifles for XCOM. The standard ballistics they had were a step below Dust weapons, which wasn't enough if every sci-fi ever was to be believed. It sounded like both Shen and Tygan were interested in 'magnetic weapons' that sounded like railguns. After a little bit of thought, Ruby figured hyper-accelerated bits of metal could do just as much damage as a laser, but over a wider area. As soon as Ruby was satisfied with the laser weapon schematics, she'd send them off to Shen and start working on the mag weapons.

The door to her room opened and Ruby scowled. She faced the door, ready to chew whoever it was out for not knocking, but stopped herself short. The woman soldier Ruby occasionally saw working on her weapon stood with someone in armor that hadn't been seen before. The new soldier's armor was mostly white with a few red streaks scattered. The eyes on the helmet were slits, probably cameras with a heads up display on the inside. A fur… hood?... wrapped around his head. A red symbol took up most of the space on his right shoulder piece. That had two bars coming out either side of a V-shape and a four-point star inside the V. In the grand scheme of things, this guy's armor wasn't the most eye-catching, but it still stuck out.

"This will be your room, Mox," the woman told the soldier in white. "For now, it will just be you and Shadeslayer." She nodded at Ruby. "If any more soldiers join us, they will likely be placed in here with you."

The unknown soldier, presumably 'Mox' glanced back at the woman. "Thank you again for freeing me from Vox Prima's prison, Outrider." His voice sounded modulated in some way

"Elena, please," Outrider said. Ruby cocked her head. She didn't know Elena's first name or nickname until that point. That probably wouldn't have changed until they were on a mission together if the beans were spilled right there. "You saved my life, I was returning the favor… We have a common enemy, Fighting each other would not be beneficial."

"No, it would not. Now if you'll excuse me, I need my rest."

"Of course. I won't keep you." Elana turned around and walked away. Mox stepped into the room and the door closed behind him.

Ruby stood up and faced the newcomer. "I've heard rumors about a prison break. I'm taking it that's you?"

"That is correct." Mox reached up and took off his helmet. Ruby blinked in surprise as she was expecting a human. Mox was close but it looked like his whole face had been melted to some degree and had some sort of cybernetic implants. The biggest differences were his eyes. They were almost three times the size of a normal human's yet more sunken into his skull. "I am Pratal Mox of the Skirmishers."

Ruby cocked her head. "Former ADVENT? I've heard rumors that their soldiers aren't… entirely human."

If Mox was offended by that, he didn't show it. "I am no longer a slave to the Elders. I want them off this planet as much as you."

"Well, I'm not from this planet, so I doubt that." Ruby pointed to her right pointed ear. "Though I'm pretty sure you got that."

"I am… unaware of why ADVENT is searching for people from other worlds. I have only heard from new recruits that those particular sets of abductions are occurring." Mox set his helmet on the lower bed nearest to the door.

"I suppose not everyone can know everything." Ruby sat back on her bed. "Welcome to the misfit room." Mox gave her a strange look, though that was expected. "You're former ADVENT, one of the Chosen called me Avatar and wants to kidnap me."

Mox stiffened. "Avatar. Are you certain?"

"Yes. Practically the whole ship knows that." Ruby paused. "You know something about that?"

"Just the name, and that when I defected, the Elders were focused on that above all else." Mox brought a hand to his chin. "This combined with your alien origin… I need to speak to my superiors." He turned around and left the room.

Ruby sighed and shook her head. "Nice meeting you." She picked up the tablet she was loaned and opened an app that she installed herself. The tablet screen shifted to show the Viper's cell. Ruby installed a camera just outside the cell the day after the psionic inhibitor. While the bridge officially had the only feed, Ruby synced her tablet with the camera. Currently, the Viper was just sleeping on the sheets laid on the floor.

Over the week that Ruby spied on the cell, she grew more and more convinced the Viper wasn't a civilian. Not so much in her actions, but her movements. A twitch here, a tongue flick there, but the biggest one was the way she occasionally curled up. She was so close! The answer was right _there!_ What was this Viper?

* * *

**If Ruby seems a little out of character, well, half of her soul's been ripped away. Not exactly the best thing to happen to Megamom.**

**Stay safe out there people. Stay hopeful that sports will return soon... but seriously, stay hopeful and DON'T PANIC. **

**Keep calm and carry on. -WWII UK**


	6. Pink Ghost

**Not everyone is sticking to the 6 feet apart advice. A cute little tortoiseshell kitten trotted up to me while doing yard work on Saturday. She loves pets and is such a purrer. We have her locked in the bathroom while we're waiting for an appointment to get her all the new kitten things. Now we have to hope the resident kitty likes the newcomer...  
**

**Enough COVID update. Onto something a little less depressing.**

* * *

Ruby snapped her eyes open as she felt herself falling. She crashed onto the metal floor. Before, she would have barely felt the impact. Without wards or Aura now, she groaned and rolled on the floor as her entire right arm ached. When she finally came to her senses, she felt herself being pressed into the metal beneath her at a slight angle. She also noticed the elevation alarms blaring. The _Avenger _was repositioning. Every time that happened before while she was asleep, Central's initial call over the intercom woke her up. Either those sleeping pills Invidia smuggled her worked better than they should have or Ruby was finally enjoying a night without nightmares. Probably both.

As soon as the ship reached cruising altitude and speed, Ruby stood up and walked to the door. She opened it and poked her head out into the common area. All the soldiers out there stood tense. Some had their armor laid out in front of them with others putting bits and pieces on. Ruby clenched her teeth and forced her groggy brain into battle mode.

The medic from the mission than XCOM rescued Ruby walked out of her next door room dragging the entirety of her torso armor. Ruby at least had a… not hostile relationship with her. "Bones, what's the situation?"

Bones hauled up her chestpiece and faced Ruby at the same time. "ADVENT is attacking a resistance haven in northeastern New Mexico. We're going to respond." She paused as she knelt down to grab one of her pauldrons. "By New Mexico, I mean the state, not the ADVENT region. Screw that naming system."

Ruby fully stiffened. "Military or civilian?"

Bones gave Ruby a look. "We're the only fully non civilian resistance group on Earth. They're blasting civies left right and center."

The Rider threw herself back into her room and ripped her armor out from underneath her bed. It had been a while since she responded to any Grimm attacks, but those images were burned into her memories forever. Huntsmen lying dead, children screaming for their parents, numerous lives ruined. There was no way she was staying behind on this mission.

Just as she finished strapping her chest plate into place, the _Avenger's_ intercom clicked. _"The following soldiers, please report to the hangar. Captain __Fahim Sall, Sergeant Natalie Peters, Corporal Ruby Rose, Corporal Tahvo Marlov, and Squaddie Zenmato Ven. Get moving people."_

That made things a little easier, for Ruby anyway. She heard a few muffled groans filter through her open door. She sped through getting her armor on and strapped her greaves as she walked through the common room and the corridors beyond. Ruby ran through her temporary teammates in her head. Natalie was Bones, Zenmato was the blue skinned Twi'lek, if that's what his species was called. Tahvo… Grizzly didn't like Ruby. They didn't interact much, but he never lost a chance to throw a glare at his fellow soldier. Ruby had heard of Fahim Sall, but she didn't have a face to go with it.

She walked into the armory and saw the three people that she did know. All those soldiers roamed around the racks of guns and other war materiel. Ruby walked past all of them and looked over the few snipers. As far as she knew, only a covert action and a few scouting missions went out. Still, someone could have used her weapon for whatever reason. She pulled out the gun in the slot she used before and flipped it over. Sure enough, the 'X' she marked sat where it should be. She didn't have the scanning abilities of her old bionic eye, so she'd have to do things the old-fashioned way.

Ruby stepped to a nearby table and began disassembling her weapon. Even though this was her first time working with this rifle, her experience with literally hundreds of others made it quick work. She crossed her teeth as she examined the chamber assembly. That thing could take a big bullet. Ruby grabbed one of the sniper mags and ejected one of the bullets. Eighteen millimeter… that packed one heck of a punch and also explained the limited clip size. It couldn't quite pierce a tank's armor by itself, but it sure would dent it. That made Ruby feel a little better about the lack of bullets per mag.

After cleaning every individual part, Ruby looked around the armory as she fit everything back together. Firebrand and a couple other people worked on various places around the Skyranger. The other soldiers… stood around talking. Ruby narrowed her eyes at them and her mouth dropped open. What the heck were they doing? Their equipment saved their lives and lives of others. Didn't they know they needed to take care of their kit? Ruby growled and returned her attention to her own work. She couldn't let them get to her. She'd carry all their asses if she needed to.

The doors to the armory opened behind Ruby. "Menace! Status report!" an unfamiliar voice called. His accent sounded like a combination of southern Animan like Scarlet and something from a north Vacuan tribe. That was a strange combination. Ruby turned her head toward the newcomer. A brute of a man with almost black skin stood in military fatigues just inside the armory. He stood straight as an arrow with his hands on his hips. The sight might have brought a tear to Winter's eye.

The other three members of the squad whipped around and stood at attention. "We were just waiting on you sir," Bones said. Judging by the 'sir' and their reactions, this had to be Captain Sall.

"Just me?" He looked around the area until his eyes rested on Ruby. "What are you doing over there, newbie?"

"Just checking my weapon, sir." Ruby slapped the last bit of her weapon into place. "Don't want my first shot to be an errant bullet like last time."

Sall nodded. "Good woman. Maybe you can teach some of our other operatives to do the same." Ruby joined the rest of the squad and Sall looked them over. "Listen up! These ADVENT wankers think they can just waltz into any camp protected by us and just kill everyone inside with no repercussions. We all know they are wrong. We are going to fly into camp, kick their asses, and unless the Commanders says otherwise, join them for a nice cup of tea before we relocate them. Do I make myself clear soldiers?" All soldiers gave their own versions of 'yes sir,' some of them in other languages.

"We're good to go, Captain," Firebrand called from just outside the Skyranger. "Central just gave us the go ahead for aerial takeoff."

"You heard the lady! Grab your kit and get moving!"

The squad scattered around the armory and grabbed various weapons. Ruby grabbed a few mags for her sniper then ran over and grabbed the sword she used in her first mission. She grimaced at the sight. It looked a little more nicked up than what she remembered. Someone used this sword for something. The sooner she could get her own equipment, the better. She grabbed a grenade on her way to the hangar as well.

As she stepped into the Skyranger, she looked back at the rest of her squad. For the most part, it looked like a good mix of strengths. She had the range, Sall had the ability to put lead downrange with his gatling cannon, Grizzly had a grenade launcher on his back, Bones was the medic… and Zenmato had a mini rocket launcher strapped to his wrist. There could be a lot of explosions in this battle.

"Grizzly," Sall called, "Tygan and Shen want to test out the Frost Bomb. It's yours." He underhanded a blue cylinder to the grenadier.

Grizzly turned the 'bomb' over in his hands before nodding and hooking it to his belt. "Let's see if its as useful as they think."

Shortly after that, the squad filed into the Skyranger. Ruby secured herself in her seat and the others did the same. The hatch on the transport curled up and the elevator it sat on started to raise. Those inside rattled along with their transport as the air of the upper atmosphere billowed into the _Avenger. _A little later, the engines spun up and the turbulence evened out as the Skyranger lifted off the flight deck. It banked to the right and the engines cooked up even more.

The internal speakers cracked to life. _"ADVENT is going after a resistance encampment in northeastern New Mexico,"_ Central said. _"Our people don't stand a chance against them. We're moving to secure the area. Eliminate all enemy contacts."_

"What do we know about the area?" Sall asked.

"_It's just north of the former city of Clayton. On our last contact, their population was approximately one hundred. With how close they are to Texas and Oklahoma, we can expect the locals to be heavily armed."_

Bones scoffed. "That's a no brainer."

"The more guns in this fight the better," Ruby said. She couldn't understand why Bones was so upset about firepower, especially in wartime… at least that part of Ruby's brain worked as intended.

"Shadeslayer," Sall leaned forward from his seat across from Ruby, "how good are you at calling out targets?"

"I can call them out and take 'em down at a half mile out," Ruby said in a flat tone. "Any more and I need to do one or the other. Close range… I don't know with this thing." Ruby gestured at the sniper rifle beside her. "With my weapon back home, I was a tornado of death." She smirked a little at the thought but it fell away quick. Without Aura, she probably wouldn't be nearly as badass as she was back on Remnant.

"I'll take that as you're confident in your abilities. I just hope not overconfident. Once we touch down, find a way to get up high. Call out targets. All respect to Shen senior, I trust human eyes over a drone's any day." Sall faced the rest of the squad. "You know how they group up. Find a pod and blow 'em to hell. Tails, you're our forward operator. Blast any who get close but save your rockets for something that has a little more armor. Bones, you're with me." Sall faced the cockpit. "Firebrand, what's our ETA?"

"Ten minutes boss," Firebrand called. "No bogies on the radar and the wind's at our back. Smooth riding from here to the LZ."

"Copy that." Sall focused back at Ruby again. "We've all fought in environments that have plenty of civilians around. How about you?"

"Plenty of times. Zero civilian casualties in over twenty years."

Sall looked Ruby up and down then shrugged. "You're an elf. That'll do it."

"Not an elf, just a dragon's magic." Ruby looked down and to the side. "We could really use some of that right now." She shook her head and drew her hopefully temporary sword. She needed to know every single scratch, dent, and chip in the metal. If one of those got caught on something, that could throw her off her game.

The lights in the Skyranger turned red. _"We're approaching the dropsite."_ Firebrand's voice came out of both the cockpit and Ruby's earpiece. _"Menace is ready to deploy."_

Ruby freed herself from her restraints and made sure all her weapons were secure. Everyone else did the same. This was the same as any number of Grimm extermination mission. The only difference was these things had guns. Then again, some Lancer and the red striped Alagaësian varieties Salem made in her later years had their own projectiles. This might be more like that… or the White Fang or Nevermores.

The transport slowed to a stop and everyone grabbed the bars above them. The sound of gunshots filtered through the metal. The hatch hissed open then the lights turned green. Sall led the way out of the Skyranger and grabbed one of the cables as it came down from the back of the transport. Ruby did the same right after. She scanned the battlefield as she fell. She didn't see many civilians. Most had to be hiding somewhere. Several different gunfights raged throughout the camp. The number of combatants, she couldn't tell. Judging from the black transports flying away, ADVENT had more soldiers, likely with more coming.

Ruby hit the ground and searched around for a high spot. She picked out a tower made of scrap metal and wood and sprinted toward it. As far as she knew, no gunshots were fired in her direction during her run. She jumped up the first few rungs on the ladder and hauled herself up. At the top, she unslung her weapon and rested it on the wooden railing.

"Who the hell are you?" a voice to her right groaned. She jumped and looked down at the voice. A man with a gunshot in his right shoulder laid sprawled on the floor. He had no armor, just a pair of jeans, a t-shirt with a red 'O' on it, and a few extra ammo mags to go with the assault rifle on the ground beside him… That weapon looked a lot like a standard issue V4 back on Remnant."

"My name's Ruby Rose. I'm with XCOM. We're here to help." She clicked on her comms. "Shadeslayer to Bones. I've got an injured civie up here."

"_Is it life threatening?"_ Bones asked.

"No. It just looks painful."

"_Then get your eyes back on the field, Shadeslayer. That's where we're all needed."_

Ruby grimaced. She understood that, but she was used to being able to heal that kind of injury or having someone nearby that could. That was going to take some getting used to. She looked out over the battlefield and picked out her squad. They just reached the first buildings and Bones laid down some fire down the street and toward a group of black armored troopers. A red armored soldier not in officer's armor poked its head around the corner. Ruby sighted that one up and put a bullet into it's helmet right where red met gray. It went down faster than a dragon at terminal velocity.

She returned her attention to the group Bones was firing at. "Bones, you've got two troopers and an officer in that pod." Bullets flew in from behind the officer and hit it in the shoulder. The action sent the soldier scrambling for cover. "There's at least one civie firing on that group."

"_Copy that,"_ Sall called. _"We've got these wankers. Provide cover for other civies."_

"Ten-four." Ruby shifted her aim off that pod and turned her rifle toward a different part of the camp. There, a trooper and another soldier in white armor shot into one of the shacks. A civilian with an assault rifle occasionally popped out and fired at her attackers but never landed any hits. How her cover stayed intact Ruby didn't know.

The Rider set her sights on the back of the white soldier's head and pulled the trigger. Her shot flew true and through the attacker's head. The white soldier fell forward, making the normal trooper flinch and jump out of cover. The civilian popped out once more and held down her trigger. Most of her shots sprayed around the trooper but enough slammed into him and dropped him to the ground.

A shrill scream burst into Ruby's ears, making her blood run cold. She heard some kind of weapon fire and the scream silenced. Ruby swung her rife toward the sound. She didn't see anything in that direction… then a massive red alien in green armor stepped out of a shack. It had some sort of mask over where its nose and mouth should have been. Thick green armor covered its torso and limbs. The thing reloaded its weapon then fired into another shack.

"Shadeslayer to _Avenger,_ we've got a new contact here." Ruby lined up her weapon onto the alien's head and pulled the trigger. Again, the bullet flew straight into the creature's head, right in between its eyes. The alien reeled back but its head straightened out and it stared right at Ruby with a line of orange blood running down it's snout. It stomped forward, threw its arms behind itself, and roared right at Ruby. "And that _thing_ just shrugged off a bullet to the face." Ruby ejected her current magazine and loaded another.

"_Mutons," _Central said. "_These ones seem a little more agile than the ones we fought in the past; it looks like they're still serving as the aliens' front line, though."_

"Front line, so tough armor." Ruby popped back over the edge and aimed at where she last saw the Muton. She found it but it was running right toward her. A trooper ran out from an alley was and bowled over by the enraged alien. Those things didn't care about friendly fire. Good to know. Ruby took aim once more, pulled the trigger, and sent a bullet at the alien. The shot flew right into the first hole. This time, the alien's head flew back and the whole creature flopped backward. Another kill. Ruby chambered another round and searched for more targets.

"You…" the man beside Ruby groaned. "I know you." The man's voice grew clearer with each of those words. Ruby glanced at the man. The civie glared up at her with an intensity that matched Grimm. "You're the Avatar." This time his voice grew lower and almost sounded like he threw up the last word.

Ruby stiffened and gripped the sword on her back. "What do you know about that?"

Instead of an answer, the man looked straight down. Every single one of his muscles rippled then grew. The fabric of his clothes stretched then ripped. Ruby stood up and drew her sword. She'd heard people talking about fleshy ten-foot-tall aliens that grew from the bodies of humans. This fit that description. She drove her sword into the top of the man's head. But the alien didn't stop it's growth. It didn't even slow down. "Uhh…" Ruby backed up but she ran into one of the sheet metal railings. "Shadeslayer to squad, I've got a Faceless here!"

The fleshy alien stood up, pushing off the tin roof of the tower as he did so. The thing was a mountain of melted flesh and muscle. Its growl almost sounded like a mix between a Creep and an Apathy. It reeled its right arm back then slashed right at Ruby. The Rider ducked out of the way and stared at the sword still in the alien's head. She was way too close to the Faceless to shoot with her sniper, while still in the tower anyway. Ruby jumped backward and aimed at the alien's left eye. She pulled the trigger, expecting to fly backward like she would with any of her weapons back home. Instead, after she saw that bullet hit home, she fell straight to the ground and landed flat on her back. All the air left her lungs.

Ruby lay on the ground gasping for air. Her head hurt like hell and her vision blurred. That hurt far more than she was used to. Movement from the tower caught her eye. She lifted her head as much as she could. The Faceless _sill_ stood, even with a sword sticking out of its head unicorn style and one of its eyes leaking red. Ruby fumbled around with her left hand to key her comms. "I'm… down… Need… help…"

"_Hold on, Shadeslayer,"_ the commander's voice came over the comms. _"Tails is on his way to you."_

As Ruby watched, the Faceless jumped down from the tower. It ran toward her faster than something that size should have been able to. The Rider tried to raise her rifle but her left hand rose without her weapon. At this point, her bionic limbs were her best defense. She clenched her fist as she readied herself for the attack. The thing reeled a clawed arm over its head-

-and a shotgun blast from the side slammed into it. The alien crumpled to its right and sprawled on the ground. Zenmato ran into Ruby's line of sight with his weapon pointed at the dead alien. He nodded, his head tails waving, and faced Ruby. "Those creatures take a lot of punishment." He reached a hand down toward Ruby. "It's best not to take them on alone."

"I'll keep that in mind." Ruby grabbed the offered hand and Tails hauled her to her feet. She rested her hands on her knees and took a few more deep breaths to even out her lungs. "I that was a series of events that I didn't expect."

Tails picked up the sniper and held it out to Ruby. "You good to go?"

"I'll manage." Ruby grabbed the gun and straightened up. She faced her sniper tower, or rather where her tower once stood. It all rested in a heap of mangled wood and rubble. "I'll need a new vantage point." She scanned the rows of shacks to find a new sniper's perch. A stack of shipping containers caught her eye and she ran toward it. "Shadeslayer is back up. I'm repositioning."

"_We're almost good on the ground, Shadeslayer,"_ Sall said over comms. _"But ADVENT always sends reinforcements after the first wave. Check the skies. Call anything out.."_

"Copy that." Ruby ran past the first rows of shacks then climbed up the stack of containers. At the top, she perched between two flags waving in the wind, one with a blue triangle with a white star in it poking in between red and white stripes, the other had a blue square with quite a few white stars and alternating red and white stripes. Ruby searched the ground for targets but heard very few gunshots. She was about to swing her aim back toward where her squad fought but a trio of black armored soldiers caught her eye.

Two ADVENT Troopers and an Officer had their weapons leveled against what looked like a family of three, A girl that couldn't be more than fifteen stood between a man and a woman, all with their hands behind their heads. The officer shouted something and the troopers tensed. Ruby grit her teeth and set her sights on the Officer. She had one bullet left. Maybe taking out their leader would do the trick. Ruby pulled the trigger… and watched her bullet fly toward one of the troopers instead. She was about to swear when the bullet somehow hit the grenade the trooper carried. The explosion engulfed that trooper, the officer, and blew the third off its feet. Ruby dropped her jaw as two locals rounded a corner and eptied an LMG and a V4 into their bodies. "Oh my gosh." She scoffed. "I should have seen that grenade."

The sniper searched for the family she just saved. The parents used their own bodies to protect just about every inch of their daughter. Even when the friendly soldiers reached the family the parents still didn't let go of their daughter. Ruby knew the feeling well. She'd do just about anything for Angel and Crey. Ruby adjusted the grip on her weapon and glared at the scope. Just getting slammed on the ground messed up the sights? That wasn't acceptable.

A few low rumbles reached Ruby's ears. She tilted her head back to stare at where the sound came from. A pair of black transports flew toward the camp. "This is Shadeslayer, I see those reinforcements you were talking about. Two of them coming in from the southeast."

"_We see them too, Shadeslayer,"_ the Commander said. _"Prepare to ambush them as they arrive."_

As the transports got closer, Ruby couldn't help but notice how low they were flying. Her bionic limbs weren't nearly as strong as they were back on Remnant, but they could still give her a good boost. It looked like they were just low enough for her plan. She threw her weapon onto the rood and prepared to jump. The side doors on the lead transport opened up and Ruby crouched, putting all her weight on her right leg.

At the right moment, Ruby jumped and flew up toward the transport. She clamped on with her right hand and hauled herself into the crew compartment. A regular Trooper, and Officer, and a different red armored soldier made various noises of surprise at the intruder. "Hi, boys." Ruby punched the trooper in the face, launching him out the other side of the crew compartment. She roundhouse kicked the officer sending him out the entrance the Rider came in. The last one barely managed to raise it's rifle before Ruby punched him in the gut. She then kneed him in the faceplate, shattering it.

With the foot soldiers taken care of, Ruby stepped into the cockpit. Both the pilot's and copilot's red helmets had blue 'eyes' in the center. They both faced Ruby but neither of them could defend themselves before Ruby plunged her bionic hand into their throats. With both of them choking, Ruby threw them out of their seats then took the seat on the left. "This is Shadeslayer, lead transport neutralized."

No one spoke for a few seconds. _"Avenger copies, Shadeslayer,"_ Bradford finally said. _"I don't know how you did it, but we'll take it."_

"I'll land in the outskirts then rejoin the fight." Ruby looked over the controls. She'd designed and built a fair few aerial vehicles back on Remnant. She'd flown the simulator for those ones back then too. If this thing was designed in any sensible manner, she should be able to fly it. She grabbed the controls, banked it to the left, and nosed down away from the camp. Unfortunately she couldn't slow down much. She hit the ground hard. Metal shrieked around her but the transport didn't crumple. After experimenting with a few possible switches, she found the one to power down the engines. "Plus one vehicle."

Ruby ran out of the cockpit, grabbed one of the assault rifles in the crew compartment, and ran toward where she still heard gunshots. She picked out a few eyes peeking through windows. She ignored them for the moment. There would be time for them after the battle was won. An explosion reached her ears and she kicked her legs up a notch.

She caught sight of Tails' head tails and slowed down. The Twi'lek's posture was relaxed and his shotgun hung at his side. That was either really good or really bad. Ruby rounded a corner and she got why Tails was frozen. A red mech of some kind stood frozen in ice, its large rifle pointed at nothing.

Sall walked up to the mech and knocked on the ice. _"Avenger,_ you reading any more contacts?"

"_Negative, Brick,"_ Central said. _"That's it."_

"Copy that. Let Tygan know the Frost Bomb worked." Sall looked over his shoulder. "Grizzly, this one's yours."

"With pleasure." Grizzly walked up and hefted his assault rifle. He said something in a language Ruby didn't recognize then unloaded his entire mag into the mech, letting the weapon's natural recoil make the weapon track upward. The mech sparked and something inside its chest exploded. Ruby looked the disabled machine up and down. She could have some fun with that thing later.

"_Status confirmed,"_ Central breathed. _"All hostiles are down and the area is secured. Combat mission accomplished. Menace, your goal is to now help the locals pack up and get ready to move out. Corporal Rose, after you retrieve your weapons, you are to help repair the big rigs that the camp has."_

Sall gave Ruby a look, or more accurately, the ADVENT assault rifle she carried. "Again, Rose? Invidia said you loved your weapons."

"When they love me back, I do." Ruby bit back another retort as she turned around and walked toward where she left her rifle. As soon as she was out of sight of the rest of the squad, she hung her head. _Add that to the list of things that are wrong with me._

* * *

**Well, some bad news for this. I FINALLY figured out one thing that was wrong with my original work. That means I'm probably going to be spending more time on that in the future, not that I'm writing as much as I was a year ago in the first place. Still, inconsistent updates will get even more inconsistent.  
**

**Also, random XCOM mission names for chapters that have missions in them! My only chapter titles that have no sense to them!**


	7. Hollow

**Things have been a little... stressful around here for a while, especially this last week. I'm safe but some of the fires have been too close for comfort. Then again, it's not nearly as stressful for me as for some people. Hoping this will relieve at least some of yours.  
**

* * *

After yanking her sword out of the head of the Faceless, Ruby climbed the stack of shipping containers that she left her rifle on and took another look over the camp. Several plumes of smoke rose over the shanty town. Some shacks and containers looked like they were completely destroyed. A few cars roamed around the perimeter with locals with guns hanging out the sides. Some people roamed between the homes on motorcycles. The screams and wails of the injured, dying, and survivors filled the air.

Yet despite all this, people still climbed onto their roofs with colorful cloth in hand. They mounted their flags on metal and wooden poles on most of the makeshift buildings. Most of the flags were the red white and blue ones from before with the third most common one consisting of red, white, and green vertical stripes with an image of an… eagle?... eating a snake while standing on a cactus. There were a few scattered others, some of them being for what looked like colleges. Most of the flag bearers either saluted the flags they mounted, pumped a fist in the air, or drank some kind of alcohol as soon as their banners were secure. Ruby shrugged. People needed something to grab onto in times like this.

After noting everything wasn't terrible in the camp, Ruby used her perch to locate the trucks she was supposed to be working on. She saw the cabs on the other side of the camp. Might as well start walking. She climbed down the stack of containers and marched toward the trucks. As she walked, she wondered how the heck those big rigs would make it to a road. It didn't look like there was anything within a mile and at least the ground she walked on wasn't the hardest.

As she walked through the camp, Ruby couldn't help but look at all the destruction. Bullet holes in buildings and people she was used to, even if some of the entry and exit wounds were a little bigger than normal. But it looked like ADVENT soldiers sued ballistics. She passed a dead Muton that had a different kind of weapon, though it was in pieces. Whatever it was, the wounds and holes were too spread out to be lasers and the area directly around the impact site had burns so they couldn't be normal ballistics. Must be that plasma weaponry she heard so much about. She really needed to get her hands on some of that tech.

Ruby clamped her teeth together as she stepped around the corpse of a civilian. Ever since Aaron died, that's how she approached these things. She hated it. She wasn't CSI, she wasn't a soldier, she was hardly even a warrior before she was taken from Remnant. Whether she spread it or not, Yang's comment of Grandma Ruby started to spread around the rest of the Riders. Ruby loved being the one to help people out in their time of need. Now… she had no time.

The Rider heard a man scream to her right. She sprinted toward the sound in case her squad missed an enemy. Ruby rounded a corner with sniper rifle raised yet lowered it when she saw the cause. A man in Kevlar body armor knelt over the body of a child, or what was left of it anyway. Most of the child's chest was burned away with their right arm missing completely. Their head was only connected by a thin string of skin. Ruby took a sharp breath through the nose and continued toward the trucks. There was nothing she could do… and Crey was the first image that popped into her mind. Her baby boy was alive and well, perfectly safe with the rest of the family. He would never end up like that. No one would allow it.

As she walked, she made a point of looking for anything she could help with. Unfortunately, with no access to her magic, the number of things she could help with was practically nothing. As much as it hurt, Ruby walked by each and every one of the people that needed medical attention. She could do wonders with magic, but without it, she could only do basic first aid, things just about everyone could do. After she passed an older man bracing a child's arm using only wood and an old shirt, she resolved to asking Invidia for some more advanced medical training without magic. Elves in general were so good at both kinds of medicine.

After several minutes, Ruby made it to what looked like the camp's motor pool. In addition to the semi-trucks she saw from her observation post, a few pickups and other vehicles sat beneath tarps and other semi-permanent structures. A group of locals worked on one of the trucks with a heavy machinegun mounted in the bed. That would have been helpful in the fight.

Ruby walked over to the nearest semi and the mechanic working on it. "Hey, I've been told you need help getting these things running?"

The man looked over his shoulder. "Yeah. You the paramilitary group that kicked ADVENT's ass?"

"XCOM, yes." Ruby looked over the man's shoulder and into the engine. It looked like so many Dust conversion engines back on Remnant with something else on top of where the pistons were. "What's the problem here?"

The mechanic grunted and glared at the engine. "ADVENT tech. The damn Martians aren't exactly shipping gas out here, so we have to steal these conversion kits. The problem is our guy got captured on his last run into the city. Likely ratted us out." The man scoffed. "Typical Californian." He glanced back at Ruby. "You know how these things work?"

Ruby shrugged. "I've worked on weirder things. I should be able to figure it out."

The man nodded. "Well, she's yours. I'm going over to help with the technicals." He pat Ruby high on the back and walked over to one of the makeshift garages.

"Okay, big girl. Let's see what you got." Ruby grabbed the toolkit the mechanic left behind and started working on popping open the casing of the device on top of the pistons. A few of the markings on it led her to believe that it was some sort of high capacity/high output battery. That certainly was one way to power a conversion engine. It definitely wasn't efficient, but it could get the job done.

She managed to top the panel to reveal what looked like the battery itself. Ruby cocked her head at the alien lettering and symbols. "Shadeslayer to _Avenger,_ is the chief engineer on the line?"

A few moments of silence passed before Shen said over comms, _"I'm here and I see what you're looking at. ADVENT power packs. More efficient and more effective than the solar panel jobs I've seen, but much riskier to steal. Only available to the rich and particular ADVENT sympathizers."_

"Can this thing explode if I do something wrong?"

"_Explode, no. Potentially leak radiation from the little bit of Elerium inside, yes. Want me to walk you through how it works?"_

"If you're offering, yes." Ruby sat through the next several minutes of technical jabber thrown her way. She used to hate sitting through lectures, but now, especially when it came to mechanical stuff, she thought it was the most efficient way of learning new things outside of hands on experience. The worst part about the whole thing was that she likely wouldn't be able to replicate it back on Remnant. The materials just weren't there yet.

Shen walked Ruby through the particulars of hooking the powerpack up to the engine. Really, it was one of the simplest mods that she could think of. She just had to hook some things to the base of the pistons, and it should work. It was a fine piece of machinery. When this was all over, she might have to try to take one of them back to Remnant to power a Wyvern or something similar.

With everything hooked up right, Ruby hopped up into the cab and searched the area for keys. She pulled down one of the sun blockers and a keychain fell onto her lap. After a few tested keys, one of them slipped into the ignition. One quick turn and the engine started right up. A few people on the ground looked her way with a couple of them raising their fists in celebration. Ruby looked around the ceiling for a chain like in the trucks on Remnant. She found it and pulled it. A massive horn blew from the top of the cab. People on the ground either cheered or covered their ears. Ruby smirked. She'd never actually done that back on Remnant.

With that out of the way, she turned off the engine, left the keys in the ignition, and hopped out of the cap. Ruby walked toward where most other people worked. "I got that one fixed. Anything else you need me to take care of?"

A few of them looked around until the one Ruby originally talked with shook his head. "Not like that. We've got the other ones taken care of. Maybe you could give us a hand with the turrets. We've got plenty of guns and ammo, but the mounts are getting…" he trailed off as what sounded like an intercom buzzed. All the mechanics looked at each other before leaving the makeshift garage. They all placed their hands over their hearts and raised their heads.

The intercom buzzed one more time before a woman's voice filled the air. "Oh, say can you see…" It was a song that Ruby didn't recognize but she'd heard multiple Kingdom Anthems in her time. The mechanic's actions just confirmed it. Out of respect for the land, Ruby took the same position and faced where the mechanics did, the red, white, and blue flag with a bunch of stars.

After the song ended, the mechanics cheered and raised their fists in the air. A chant of, "U-S-A! U-S-A!" rolled over the camp. Ruby let her hand fall to her side and let the mechanics have their moment. This felt important to these people.

As soon as the cheering died down from that, the intercom clicked again. A different woman's voice came out of the speakers only in a language Ruby didn't recognize. One man stepped to the front of the group with his gaze focused on the white, green, and red flag. The rest of the group stayed in place with hands over their hearts so Ruby returned hers to its former place.

A little way into the song, Ruby's earpiece chirped. _"Pack it up, Menace,"_ the Commander said. _"We need to get moving. Firebrand is setting down on the south side of the camp. Good work people. You could all use a break when you get back to the _Avenger."

Other members of the squad reported that they heard right away but Ruby waited for the second anthem to end before clicking her comms on. "Shadeslayer copies. I'm moving south." She faced the mechanics but none of them were looking at her. She shrugged and walked away. They were doing just fine without her. She wouldn't be needed.

Despite the earlier cheers, the majority of people Ruby passed were still licking their wounds. The uninjured people she passed helped those who weren't so lucky. So many bodies laid on the ground. At one point, she caught a glimpse of what she thought was the recovery team carry away the body of a deceased ADVENT soldier. Their airship must have come in when she was working on the engine.

A single row of shacks away from the grounded Skyranger, Ruby heard a commotion to her right. A young tan skinned woman ran about to every person on the street, arms flailing about. She spoke in that same other language as before, her voice frantic. Without exception, everyone gave some kind of 'no' response. The woman tilted her head skyward and yelled at the heavens. One word caught Ruby's attention that explained the woman's reaction. It wasn't quite 'baby,' but it was close enough. The woman tilted her head back down, her teary brown eyes locking on Ruby's silver.

Ruby subconsciously straightened up. Her arms hung limp by her side and her jaw dropped a fraction. Almost all sound became white noise and faded out. She only heard the mother's cries. A child was missing in a battlefield. That child needed to be found.

Ruby walked away from the Skyranger, her eyes focused low. The mother's wails grew quieter as the search party of one got further away. Every little bit of movement made her head snap to it. Every time was some kind of rodent or scorpion. At some point she thought she heard someone scream in her earpiece, but she never heard any words. Eventually, the mother's wails silenced completely.

The Rider wandered through the camp, listening for something that couldn't be heard. Ruby caught a few people giving her strange looks, but she paid them no mind. A child was missing. Nothing else mattered.

It could have been a minute, it could have been ten hours, but Ruby finally heard a single sniffle. She snapped her head toward it and stared at a shack that was elevated a little off the ground on cinderblocks. The Rider stayed in place, silent as she listened for any other noise. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another of her squadmates marching toward her. "Shhh!" Ruby stick a finger out toward her squadmate's mouth. She was sure she heard something, just not where it was. After way too long, a whimper reached Ruby's ears. It came from the same place as the sniffle.

Ruby walked toward the house and looked it all over. Several bullet holes and plasma burns scarred the sheet metal. No one stood outside so she looked inside one of the windows. Again, she saw no one. Then she heard some movement by her feet. Ruby stared at the ground and the crawlspace beneath the shack. That explained it. Ruby stepped back and dropped to her hands and knees.

A boy that couldn't be more than five lay curled up a few feet beneath the shack. His skin matched the probable mother's. He bled from several places and his clothes were a little more tattered than most people. Another part of Ruby took over and she gave the boy the warmest smile she could. "Hi there." She reached her natural arm out toward the boy. "It's okay. The bad guys are gone. You can come out now." The boy just mumbled something in a different language.

Ruby's smile faltered for a fraction of a second. She had an idea. It worked with Violet all those years ago, but then again, she could actually _use_ her magic back then. At the same time, it was impossible to lie in the Ancient Language. That didn't matter if you could use magic or not. In theory, it should still have the same effect. She returned her smile to its full force. _"I am a Rider and a friend. You are safe here. The bad guys are gone. You can come out now. I'm going to take you to your mom." _ She tried to put energy into the words like before, but she felt no drain.

Still, she got the result she wanted. The boy loosened the grip on his legs and took his head off the ground. He said something in his own language. Ruby didn't understand but she nodded anyway. _"You're safe. You can come out now. No one here will hurt you." _The boy whimpered and he started crawling toward Ruby, with his right leg dragging behind him. _"That's it. That's it."_ Ruby waved him along until he cleared the shack. He looked up at her with big watery eyes. "Atta boy." She gave him a quick once over. Nothing looked broken but there was a huge gash on his right leg. It wasn't bleeding much but it sure looked painful.

Ruby picked the boy up and held him close. He snuggled in close and wrapped his little arms around her neck. Ruby just had that effect on kids. _"Now let's get you to your mommy." _She turned around and the sound of the camp registered in her ears once again. Sall stood a few feet away with rifle in hand. His eyes focused on the boy then locked with Ruby's. He nodded then turned around and walked back toward the Skyranger.

The boy whimpered and his right leg tensed. He cried something in his own language. _"I know it hurts. I do. You'll be helped soon. Just a little bit longer."_ Ruby kept talking to the boy as she walked. Neither of them knew what the other was saying. Still, the boy was at ease. That was all Ruby could have hoped for.

When she walked back into the main area, Ruby saw the distraught mother hunched in a corner surrounded by a few other women. _"There's your mommy."_ Ruby used her free hand to point at the crying woman.

The boy followed Ruby's finger and his lower lip trembled. "Mamá!" he called.

The woman's head shot up with her eyes immediately focusing on her son. "Mateo!" She shot to her feet and ran toward her son. She snatched him out of Ruby's arms and hugged him close. They both spoke in their language with a few words sounding incredibly close to Vytalian. Ruby just stepped back with a respective smile on her face. It was the same thing with so many of these reunions. Every time, she wished it never happened.

Normally, she'd wait for the parents or the police to make the next move, but she didn't have the luxury of time. Ruby turned toward the Skyranger and took a step toward it. Before she could take another, a gentle hand grabbed her left arm. She turned around and faced the mother. "Thank… you," the other woman said. "Stay. I… cook for you."

Ruby's warm smile returned but she raised a placating hand and shook her head. "Thank you for the offer, but I can't." She gestured at the Skyranger. "I need to go. I'm needed elsewhere. Maybe some other time."

The woman took her hand off Ruby's arm and placed it on the Rider's chest. "You always welcome."

"Thank you, but now I've got to go." Ruby turned toward the Skyranger and walked toward it. This time, she made it up the ramp without a problem. The rest of the squad was already onboard. Bones was doing something with Griz' left shoulder, but otherwise the rest of the squad had their eyes on her. Everyone but Sall gave her looks like she had some dirty thing on her face. Ruby turned around and looked back at the camp. Several people there waved at the transport with the mother doing so from the back. Ruby waved back at her specifically then slammed the side of a fist into the crew compartment's wall twice. The ramp lifted as the Skyranger left the ground.

As soon as the hatch closed, Ruby's nice side disintegrated. She slotted her weapons into their slots and pulled down her restraints as she sat. Her head dipped as she crossed her arms. She'd had enough of dealing with the aftermath of Grimm attacks. Grimm were mindless beasts. How could anyone think mowing down unarmed civilians was okay? While she didn't do it much in the first place, she didn't think she'd be driving on sidewalks in video games any time soon.

"Rose," Grizzly barked, "you disobeyed orders. Why?"

Ruby focused on one particular bolt on the floor. "My daughter was kidnapped a few years ago." She felt the tension in the crew compartment shift from being against her to something else. "We found her soon after but that was the scariest time of my life." She wasn't sure if that was entirely true. It was either that or when the Nevermores had her.

"I fail to see your point," Grizzly continued, unaware of the shift in the transport. "That was not our mission."

Ruby shot her head up and gave Grizzly what felt like her fiercest glare ever. "It _is_ mine. I am sworn to protect the innocents of all Kingdoms, an oath I can't break. That's what all my people do. I extended my oath to help any and all people in _that_ situation. Even if I_ didn't_ do that, I still would have. I know what that mother went through. I remember that panic like it was yesterday. I-" She stopped herself from saying that she had an idea of what that child went through. "I fight for those people until my last breath. I don't care where we are or what the mission is. If someone is abducted or if someone is crying out for family, I will do whatever I can to resolve the situation." She grabbed the camera on her vest and angled the mic right at her mouth. "You hear that Commander? If I ever come across a situation like that again, I _will_ act. These people are living through hell already. I _will _give them at least a little hope. If a low life civie is responsible, they're as dead as the rest of ADVENT." She let go of her mic and continued to glare lasers into Grizzly.

The big man huffed and said something in his own language. Sall yelled something right back in what sounded like the same language. Whatever that was, Grizzly winced and turned his head away. The squad leader faced Ruby and looked her up and down, his face not giving away anything. He was either really mad or she was in for a promotion.

"Besides," Ruby finally took her glare off Grizzly and crossed her arms, "I thought XCOM's mission was to protect the people of this planet. When looked at from that point of view, I did my job to the letter."

"You still disobeyed a direct order," Sall said in a flat tone. "Not only that, you might very well have ticked off the Commander. You're his problem now."

Ruby grunted. "Fine with me. I've straightened out scarier people." Ruby stayed silent the rest of the flight. She thought she heard some words of praise to the squad from the Commander and another ADVENT news broadcast, but she ignored every word of it. She just sat stewing in her own rage, at ADVENT, at the Commander, at Grizzly, at herself, at everything. In any other situation, she would have tried to keep her cool. But with the Cerise shaped hole in her head, she didn't care about any of that. To hell with that forgive and forget nonsense.

The Skyranger landed on the _Avenger _without incident. Ruby didn't wait for an invitation to disembark. She placed her weapons and remaining ammo back in their racks and walked out of the armory. A few people stared after her as she walked through the halls, but she ignored them all. She stormed into her room, thankful that her roommate wasn't there.

Ruby screamed and punched the wall on the back of her bed. It hurt her fingers but still felt good. So good she did it again and again until her natural hand left a red imprint on the wall. She leaned on her now bloody fist for a moment while panting. She pulled her fist back and looked at it. Her fingers from knuckle to base oozed red. She'd need to pay Invidia a visit sooner rather than later.

She growled and looked around the room. She found her loaned tablet exactly where she left it. Of course, she would. Mox felt too proper to do anything mischievous. Ruby picked up her tablet and opened the app she used to record her audio logs. "Ruby Rose' log, August 10, 2035. Fuck ADVENT. End log."

* * *

Two days after the retaliation strike, the Commander hadn't handed down any punishment. Ruby doubted her little speech scared him off. He probably got so much crap from people all the time he was used to it, not to mention he was pure military. They couldn't be _that_ low on manpower that there was no punishment for speaking out. While she wasn't heavy handed at all, she would not have accepted that kind of talk from any junior Rider.

While waiting for any kind of punishment, Ruby worked on her blueprints for laser weapons. She had many designs for regular ballistics that were mass produced by the SDC. Designing lasers for mass production with minimal supplies was quite a challenge. At least it kept her mind busy. Also, it didn't interfere too much with her heavily bandaged hand.

Someone knocked on the door three times. "It's safe," Ruby called. It was probably Mox. After the first time he walked in on her changing, and Ruby's very real and intentional threat, he always knocked before coming in. The door slid open, but Bradford stood on the other side of the door, not Mox. Ruby straightened where she sat. "Central."

"Sergeant Rose, please come with me." Bradford stepped back and gestured to the exit of the common area.

"Sergeant?" Ruby stood up. "I've been promoted?"

"After what you did on your last mission, we had to." Bradford stayed in the same position.

Ruby stared at Bradford for another second before shrugging. "Okay. I guess the formalities on this ship are a little looser than I thought." She walked toward her room's exit and Bradford led the way out of the common area.

"Not quite." Bradford looked over his shoulder. "We just couldn't figure out what to do with you after your little speech."

"Fair enough." Ruby stayed silent as she was escorted through the ship. Most soldiers and crew members they passed saluted Bradford. Ruby caught sight of Rayla on the way to wherever they were going. The elf's acid burns looked like they were mostly healed, though a few residual scars remained. From what Ruby could see, it looked like Rayla would be back in the fight sooner rather than later.

Bradford stopped outside a door labeled 'Propaganda.' He knocked on the door three times. Something clattered on the other side followed by some colorful language. The door opened revealing a woman wearing a denim jacket with a tan shirt underneath that. Her dark brown hair was pulled up in a bun. Various tattoos covered her off white skin. "Central, you have something for me?" she asked

"I do, Kai." Bradford gestured at Ruby. "This is Sergeant Ruby 'Shadeslayer' Rose, the one I spoke to you about."

Kai looked Ruby up and down. "You're the one who hijacked an ADVENT transport while it was still in the air?" She shook her head. "Of course, you are. I've seen the footage."

"I've made higher jumps." Ruby didn't say how.

"Huh. Somehow I find that hard to believe." Kai faced Bradford. "I'll take it from here, Central. I'll get you your propaganda by the end of the day." Bradford nodded and walked off. Kai waved Ruby into the room. "Come on. I've got all the gear you'll need in here."

Ruby stepped inside and looked around. A curved green screen took up most of the far wall. Several dozen lights and cameras hung from the ceiling. Her armor and weapons lay next to a large green cylinder. She faced Kai. "I take it you're the one in charge of all this?"

"Mostly. I have control of what goes on in this room but like everything else on this ship, I can't do anything without the Commander's approval." Kai gestured at Ruby's gear. "Get your kit on and let's get to work,"

"I take it he saw something in my last mission?" Ruby asked as she started putting her armor on.

"Definitely," Kai said from a workstation in the right corner of the room. "The Commander sent the footage to me right after the Skyranger touched down." She pointed at Ruby with a computer stylus. "You've got quite a tongue on you. Not many people mouth off to the Commander and live to tell the tale."

"I generally try not to do things like that," Ruby shrugged, "but that's not something I can let go of." If Kai thought _that _was mouthing off, what would she think of Ruby's most recent daily logs?

"But that near insubordination isn't why they and I wanted you here." Kai turned one of her screens toward Ruby. The screen showed footage of Ruby carrying the boy into the main square. The smile on her face looked real. Its owner didn't know if it actually was. "Yes, you disobeyed orders, but in the best way possible. You went out of your way to bring a little boy back to his mother. The people of that camp saw that and loved it. The rest of the world needs to see it to."

For the first time in who knew how long, Ruby felt a little happiness well up in her chest. Not enough to smile, but it still felt nice. "That's my job. I just wish I never had to do it."

Kai straightened up and her smile widened. "We can use that." She returned her attention to her screens. "With that face and that honesty, we can make so many posters. When you're done with your armor, grab that cylinder and get to center stage. I can make you hold just about anything. The people will love you."

Ruby shrugged. If it helped the war effort… at the same time, it felt nice to know that she might be an inspiration to people again. She didn't care about being in front of the camera, far from it, but to put a smile on someone's face again, that would be nice.

* * *

**Only things I have to say now, everyone, stay safe. #Blacklivesmatter #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd  
**


	8. Chimera

**Who'd have thought that trying to write 1000+ words per day everyday for 4 years straight would burn a guy out? Man, that was something... At least some good stuff is happening around here. The Twins are back, by favorite movie theater is open as a drive in, my college football team really wants to play... Just trying to stay positive before everything crumbles to dust again... like the XCOM 2 Alternative Mod Launcher suddenly refusing to launch... So many characters broken and needing to be remade/replaced...  
**

* * *

Ruby looked over the weapon schematics one more time before nodding. These mass produced magnetic and laser weapons wouldn't be nearly as effective as her custom-built ones, but they would do the trick. At the same time, they certainly were better than the ballistics XCOM currently used. The Rider prepped the schematic for a remote transfer to Shen and sent the email… only to receive a message saying that the files were too big. "Of course, why wouldn't they be." In the back of her head, she knew that the internal network was saved primarily for critical tasks, but it was still annoying. "To engineering I guess." She stood up from her bed.

The _Avenger's_ intercom chirped to life. _"Attention all hands,"_ Bradford's voice echoed through the ship, _"prepare for ascent. After we reach cruising altitude, the Commander has something to say."_

Ruby groaned and fell back onto her bed. "You couldn't have said that _before_ I stood up?" As she hoped, her roommate said nothing. Either Mox had gotten used to Ruby's constant exclamations or chose to ignore them. The Rider curled herself up in her blankets and prepared for liftoff. It technically wasn't the best way to secure herself, in fact, Ruby could have sworn something related to using blankets as seatbelts was on "The List," it was the most comfortable way to do things.

A few minutes later, the _Avenger_ shook as the engines kicked into gear. After that, Ruby was pressed into her bed as the massive ship lifted into the air. Considering it took a fair amount of time to reach cruising altitude, this wasn't a time sensitive mission. She waited until she felt the ship level out before she straightened up in her bed.

The intercom clicked on again a couple minutes into the flight. _"I'm sure you all know that we're not the only ones fighting against ADVENT,"_ the Commander said. _"We have members of the Reapers and Skirmishers with us right now. I'm sure you've heard the rumors of a group called the Templars, or even the remnants of several militaries across the planet. While we would like to confirm several of these rumors and join up with them, that is simply not possible. _

"_However, we have recently received confirmed reports of a different group. They call themselves The Liberated. I know many of you would wish this group would be a state or other significant part of a country, but that is not the case. The Liberated are comprised solely of aliens and the hybrids that compose the ranks of ADVENT Troopers." _Ruby raised her eyebrows. That was an interesting development.

"_According to our intel and our limited communication with The Liberated, all the aliens they field are the only the kind that we fight. They're either civilians from their own worlds that fought back, or former ADVENT soldiers that broke free of their programing. We are on our way to their base of operations to pick up one such operative._

"_I know we have crew members and soldiers not from Earth onboard right now, so I know you can work with them. I've seen you fight alongside Sergeant Rayla and Corporal Ven. You've seen the miracles that Scientist Romero and Doctor Invidia have performed. All of them are vital members of XCOM and we would be in a worse place without them._

"_Now let me make myself clear."_ The Commander's voice hardened. _"The Sectoid we are bringing on is one of us. He is to be treated like any other member of the crew. Any hostile actions taken against him will be treated as if they have harmed a human soldier. The same goes for all aliens we currently have onboard and any we bring on in the future. We are all XCOM. I know most of you have very real grievances against the Elders and those who fight for them. Save it for ADVENT."_ A long pause followed that last statement.

"_ETA to Liberated base; eight hours,"_ Central took over. _"Keep all sensitive equipment locked down until touchdown."_

Ruby nodded and stood up. She faced her roommate who laid prone on top of the covers on his own bed. "Mox, you know anything about these guys?"

"Before I joined XCOM," Mox began, "I scouted their base of operations for the Skirmishers. My squad made initial contact. There was little trust between us. When we returned, I was tasked with planning how to attack their fortress."

"Are they hostile? Figure out if they can be trusted?"

"Unknown to both. I was tasked with being the Skirmishers liaison to the Reapers and XCOM not long after I finished the initial plan."

Ruby shook her head then picked up her tablet from her bed. She walked out of the room without another word. Out in the common room, despite it being occupied by a fair few number of people, the air stood still. Only humans stood and sat in the room. The non-native felt quite a few eyes on her as she walked toward the exit on the other side of the room. Some of them bored into her head. She was human, but she didn't look like it. In that moment, she thought she felt how Blake, Velvet, and Violet felt their whole lives.

Still, Ruby wasn't stopped as she walked through the ship. She walked into Engineering to see Shen strapping down what looked like a crate of grenades. "Lily," she called, "I've got something for you to see." She held up the tablet.

Lily turned around and her eyes focused on the tablet. "That what I think it is?"

"If you think it's new weapons, yes." Ruby pulled up the schematics and handed the tablet to Lily.

The Chief Engineer took the tablet and her eyes lit up. It didn't take long for that light to reach her lips in a smile. "Oh yeah. This'll do." Lily walked toward her computer terminal. "Armor and weapons in the same day? What's next? The Proving Ground finishes a couple days early?"

"I can get a working prototype together within a few hours of when we land. I've built so many similar things in the past. These things have many of the same parts. The hardest thing will be charging the laser cells."

"Makes sense. I'll pass it onto the Commander." Lily plugged the tablet into her computer. "After that, well, we'll see about the supplies. That's always the hard part around here."

"Got it." Ruby turned to leave but stopped short of walking away. "How long have you known about The Liberated?"

Lily shrugged. "Shortly after you came aboard. Something you said pushed them above contacting the Templars."

"Any chance they might know about what's going on with me."

"Oh…" Lily sighed and faced Ruby. "I've got no clue. If the Commander knows, he hasn't filled us in. We don't know how big The Liberated is. Could be a few hundred, thousands, or somewhere in between. For obvious reasons, they wouldn't disclose their numbers. Someone there could know but considering how little all of our contacts know about the Avatar project, the odds of one of them knowing anything about what's going on is pretty slim."

Ruby slumped her shoulders. "Got it." She walked out of Engineering, only vaguely aware of the black hole in her head. The Avenger shook a little as she walked through the ship. One particularly rough rock threw her against the wall on her good arm. She winced and contemplated falling to the floor. That would be comfortable, and it didn't need any work.

Once again, she had nothing to do. She wasn't used to being bored. Back on Remnant, or even Alagaësia, she could play games on her Scroll, watch movies, build weapons, try creating something with magic, or a whole host of other things. Then again, she didn't have a lot of free time with Angel and Crey to take care of.

Ruby grit her teeth and shook her head. She couldn't go on with that kind of attitude. Just suck it up or end it. Those were her options. She knew which one Cerise would pick so that's the one her Rider picked. Ruby pushed herself off the wall and continued to her room. She laid down on her bed and decided to sleep until the _Avenger_ touched down. She tried to imagine dozing off on Cerise' back and that knocked her out right away.

Ruby woke up when she heard a knock on the door. She groaned and turned her head in that direction. "It's safe," she groaned.

The door opened revealing Mox… and a pink skinned alien. By human standards, the Sectoid was absolutely emaciated. Only his head looked like it had any extra meat, though if what she'd heard about them was true, his big head was probably from its species' oversized brain.

Mox inclined his head. "Ruby Rose, this Sectoid has been designated to share this space with us."

"You could have just said roommate." Ruby faced the wall opposite the door. She didn't think that this room was on the exterior of the ship. Other rooms and the common area rested on three sides. "Maybe this really is the problem room." The Sectoid made what Ruby thought was a confused sounding noise.

"She believes that Central and the Commander want to keep everyone who is potentially hostile in one place," Mox explained.

Ruby turned her head around to face Mox. "You understand him?"

"I have worked with Sectoids before." Mox nodded. "They can speak verbally but most of ADVENT's communication was psionic in nature and in the False Gods' language. As such, Verge may understand English and maybe a few other human languages, but he cannot speak any." 'Verge' dipped his head forward and his upper torso follower."

"Was… that supposed to be a nod?" Ruby asked. Verge blinked then repeated the same gesture. Ruby looked at Mox.

"He says yes," the soldier said.

"You just need to use your neck for that, like this." Ruby nodded in demonstration. "What you originally did was more akin to a bow, another sign of respect, but not the right use in that circumstance." Verge cocked his head but stayed silent.

"So," Ruby crossed her arms and stepped forward, "what brings you to XCOM?"

Verge took a step back and shook his head. "He prefers not to say," Mox translated.

"Fought for ADVENT?" Ruby waited for an answer but none came. She shrugged. "Ah well. A lot of people won't explain their pasts here. Me included. If it makes you feel better, I'm not from Earth. Anything you've done here I have a certain detachment from." While that was true, it wasn't the only reason for her detachment from reality.

Another thought came to her head. "You're psionic, right?" Verge nodded. "How much of the ship has the Commander cleared you to roam?"

"All except vital functions," Mox spoke for Verge.

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Including the brig?"

Mox straightened. "The Viper." Verge turned his head to Mox then back to Ruby, more confused noises coming from him.

"We have a Viper prisoner," Ruby explained. "No one here speaks Viper. The few psionics onboard would rather not touch their minds to a potentially hostile alien. If it wasn't for whatever psionic suppressant the Elders put in place that wouldn't be a problem. I'm guessing since you used to be one of theirs, its effect on you wouldn't be as extreme."

Verge straightened and nodded. Mox glanced at Verge then faced Ruby. "He will attempt this. However, I don't know how well the Viper will respond to this. She is hostile to all attempts to contact her psionically. I do not know how she will react to a Sectoid."

"She's responded negatively to all attempts from Invidia… with what looks light regret right after, but she's still done some damage to an elf's mind. That's no easy task. A Sectoid, a species we know she's dealt with before, might have more success." Ruby gestured toward the door. "Let's get going."

After a second's hesitation, Mox and Verge walked out of the bunkroom and back into the common area. Ruby followed right behind them. She caught quite a few glares pointed in Verge's direction. A one of them reached for a knife on his hip. Rex was in the area and caught that movement as well. He walked over to the woman and placed a hand on her shoulder. The woman glared at Rex then drew her hand away from the knife. Ruby gave the friendly soldier an almost imperceptible nod and left the barracks with the other two.

Besides a few more unrestrained glares, the three made it to the brig without being stopped. When they reached the bottom floor, Ruby felt her shoulders relax. Her stride was much less rigid. It was nowhere near where she was on Remnant, but it still felt better than the upper floors. She didn't know whether to let the smallest smile grace her lips or to grimace. As good as it felt, there was no reason for that.

As usual, two armed guards stood outside the door to the brig. The one on the far side looked at the newcomers and stiffened. "Gray!" He raised his rifle and aimed it at Verge. The other one whipped around and readied her shotgun. Both had their fingers on the trigger.

"Stop!" Mox raised a hand. "This Sectoid is an ally. He will not hurt you."

The woman scoffed. "That doesn't mean anything coming from you, ADVENT." She dipped her head to her collar and the transmitter inside. "Brig to bridge. We've got three Grays trying to gain access to the prisoner. Orders?"

Ruby crossed her arms and looked straight into the camera behind her. This was a first for her, but considering the _Avenger_ now had a member of a species that had always been hostile now working for them, people might start suspecting all crew members not from Earth. Humans always found reasons to hate each other.

When she faced forward again, both guards stood stiff. "Uh, sir, I…" The woman guard nodded. "Of course, sir. We'll let them through." Both guards lowered their weapons and the man of the two opened the door. Neither of them looked at the three visitors as they passed.

To Ruby's surprise, Invidia was already in the room. The elf stood right by the bulletproof glass with her arms crossed while staring into the cell. She had an odd look on her face that Ruby couldn't place. "Any changes here?" Ruby asked as she approached.

"I believe she has lost weight since we brought her here." Invidia nodded into the cell. Ruby stood by the elf's side and faced where Invidia indicated. She couldn't help but grimace. The Viper sure had lost weight around her midsection. Not to the point of seeing ribs, but enough to be concerning.

"She's being fed, right?"

Invidia nodded. "As effective Chief Medical Officer on this ship, it's my job to ensure everyone onboard stays healthy, including the prisoners." She opened her mouth so say more but she froze in place. After a second she relaxed and turned around. "You must be Verge." Ruby looked over her shoulder. Mox and Verge stood behind her and Invidia.

Verge made a few noises and Invidia shook her head. "We don't have any of that here. The Commander won't burden our recovery teams or the resistance for that kind of nutrient for one crewman, not to mention a prisoner." Another few noises from the Sectoid and Invidia sighed. "ADVENT Burger. Of course. I can inform the Commander, but knowing Tygan's tendencies, I'm not sure it will be approved."

Ruby looked back into the cell. The Viper stayed coiled up in the far corner, her head lolled against the wall. Her eyes were never red before. Another thing that made that alien more human than it looked. The part of Ruby that said that the Viper wasn't hostile was now screaming it. She flicked her eyes to Invidia. "You still getting the feeling from her?"

"I am." Invidia stared into the cell again. "Every time I come here, I get that feeling. She is never hostile when anyone goes into her cell for any reason, but the moment I touch her mind, she flies into a rage." She rubbed the side of her head. "After last week, I would prefer to not attempt the contact again."

"We may have a solution for that." Ruby nodded at Verge. "Invidia and I feel what we think is some kind of psychic soothe when we're around this Viper. The thing is, neither of us can feel it with our minds, me likely for multiple reasons. As far as we can tell, it's only us. Up until now, we were the only psionics onboard. You feeling anything?"

Verge stared through the glass for a few seconds before shaking his head. Invidia nodded. "We've got a psionic suppresser active. That's why you can't feel her."

Ruby took the hint and walked over to the machine and pulled the lever down. Inside the cell, the Viper straightened up then appeared to sigh. "What about now?"

Almost immediately, the Viper shrieked. She uncoiled itself as she shot up. Her mouth opened and a green and blue gas shot out. It hit the glass right in front of Verge. Everyone took a step back and Ruby upped the power of the psionic suppressor to the level it was before. The Viper appeared through the smoke and rammed into the glass. She pounded it with her fists and glared lasers at where Verge stood.

Alarms sounded in the brig. The guards from outside rushed in with rifles raised. They looked into the cell and the guy swore. "Central, the Viper's filled its cell with poison. We can't get in." A few seconds later a fan somewhere spun to life. Over the course of a minute, the green and blue cloud dispersed.

As soon as the fan stopped, the guards charged into the cell. They pulled the Viper away from the window. She didn't struggle but she still hissed, growled, and yelled bloody murder at the window. One of the guards raised his rifle and brought its butt down on top of the Viper's head. The giant snake crumpled to the ground.

Ruby clenched her fists and snarled. By the time she took a single step, Invidia was already in the cell. The elf smashed the attacking guard away and kicked the other in the stomach. Both dropped their weapons from the attacks. Invidia snatched them up and glared at the guards. She glanced at Ruby. "It is not every day when I am faster than you, Shadeslayer."

"I'm guessing you were in their heads for a second or two before then." Ruby entered the cell and walked to the Viper's side. The alien rubbed her head while still glaring at the cell wall, a low growl burning from her throat. The Huntress stepped in between them. "I've never seen that before from you." The growl stopped and the Viper froze. "That Sectoid is with XCOM, as we _all_ are." Ruby glared at the guards that were just getting up off the floor. She returned her attention to the alien.

The Viper stared up at Ruby with her pupils filling her entire eyes. The sides of her head drooped. Instead of a growl, a soft whimper flitted through her mouth. Ruby couldn't help but feel a little sad at the sight. It was the face of a sorry dog or a scorned…

Ruby clenched her eyes and shook her head. "Get out of my head." She snapped her head to the cell entrance. "Verge, is this Viper giving off anything?" The Sectoid appeared in the cell door. The Viper growled again but a sharp look from Ruby cut her off. Verge stared at the prisoner for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Not good enough," Ruby whispered under her breath. She left the cell and stood on the other side of the one-way glass.

Invidia said something to the two guards before leaving the cell as well. _"Shadeslayer, are you well?"_

"_No."_ Ruby shook her head. _"That thing is affecting us in some way and no one knows how."_ She paused. _"Maybe it's not mental? Pheromones? Hormones? I don't know. I'm no biologist."_

Ruby felt the elf's eyes on her. _"There is something else."_

"_This thing…"_ Ruby crossed her teeth. _"I'm sure you've heard that Remmartian humans came from monkeys."_ She nodded at the Viper. _"I don't know before or after, but this Viper is related to a dragon."_

Invidia let out a small gasp. _"Why would you say such a thing?"_

"_Think about it. You've spent a lot of time with Velvet in the hospital."_ Ruby gestured at the alien, now curled up in the far corner. _"Tell me you haven't seen the same mannerisms in this Viper."_

The elf narrowed her eyes at Ruby, then at the alien. She stayed like that for a few seconds before shaking her head. _"I cannot in this language. The only difference is that this one appears to be more timid than most dragons."_

"_You and I can name a few that would act like that."_ Ruby crossed her arms. _"There are people from many different worlds here. Times probably too. I wouldn't be too surprised to hear that a dragon ancestor or offspring would be here."_

Invidia nodded then glanced at Ruby. _"I believe you have developed a twitch since coming onboard."_

"_What?"_ Ruby fully faced Invidia, confused. Then she felt her head involuntarily jerk to the right. She sighed. _"I guess I do." _Footsteps thundered down the hall outside. _"Something tells me both of us are about to be confined to quarters."_

* * *

Two days into the effective house arrest, Ruby checked the List on her tablet to see if it had been updated yet. Sure enough, there were two new ones since the last time she checked.

71) No XCOM operative or crewmember is to physically assault the soldiers guarding the brig. There is a reason that they're there. We need them in case any of our 'guests' get uppity.

71a) Exceptions include if the guards themselves go rogue, if one or more of them is a Faceless, or if they violate Rule 52. List to be expanded if necessary. Please don't make it necessary.

72) If the prisoner is offering no resistance, the guards are not to assault them. We aren't the Elders people.

Ruby shook her head. The Riders' handbook was much more comprehensive in the organization's rules and regulations in its initial rollout. Most of the things in here wouldn't be even thought about back on Mor'ranar Vera. Then again, it appeared the general intelligence of the Riders was much higher than people here… but that was mostly due to the Alagaësians. The young Remmartians still found ways to get themselves and their dragons in trouble.

She set her tablet down and ran her natural hand over her head. Her hair had started to regrow since she came aboard. It was just shy of an inch and a half long at this point. As much as she wanted her full length back, she wasn't going to ask Invidia for help. There were far more important things than hair onboard.

Someone knocked on her door and it slid open. Ruby grimaced. She'd only seen Mox and Verge since the incident in the brig. It couldn't be them. They were out on mission. At least that probably meant Ruby's detention wouldn't last much longer. She tilted her head over her bed to see Rex standing in the doorway. This was new. "Something up?"

Rex straightened. "Doctor Tygan requests your presence on the bridge."

"Tygan?" Ruby screwed up her face. "What does he want with me there? I'm not exactly a scientist or anything."

"He wouldn't say, but I believe it has something to do with the current mission." Rex stepped back and gestured toward the bridge.

Ruby sighed as she stood up. "And you're my escort." She walked out of her room without another word. Rex fell into step behind her without saying anything. Nothing needed to be said, about this situation anyway. Ruby had no idea about what Rex thought of that little incident.

The two entered the bridge and a flurry of activity. Ruby had never been on the bridge when a mission was being run. At least it felt a little familiar. It had the air of urgency and energy like the command center in Mor'ranar Vera. The Commander, Tygan, and Shen stood in front of the main screen, but there was no sign of Bradford.

That is until the drone footage moved. Ruby raised her eyes at the sight of Central running at a white Viper with a sword. He jumped with his sword over his head and brought it down on the alien, nearly cutting it in half the long way. "Didn't know he had it in him."

Tygan pulled his gaze away from the screen, his face somehow more serious than before. "Sergeant Rose, all the aliens Menace 1-5 have encountered in this area have been Vipers. I would like you to examine the footage of this operation and determine if any more of these Vipers are like the one in the brig." He gestured at an open console then faced the main screen again. "Central, I'm patching through the next portion of Vahlen's transmission."

"Eyes up people," the Commander said. "Don't walk into another of those ambushes."

Ruby stared at the command staff. That was it? That's all the instruction she got? To be fair, they all had different priorities, but couldn't they at least have someone explain the situation? She shook her head and took her seat at the console.

Her screen had seven video feeds active, presumably from the squad members and the stealth drone. Bradford, Mox, Verge, Rayla, and two others Ruby wasn't familiar with were on the mission. It was a lot of information to take in all at once but she'd watched more screens before. In fact, while Menace 1-5 moved to their next position, she pulled up the drone footage from the beginning of the mission.

It looked like XCOM had stumbled into some kind of cult in the desert somewhere. Human skulls were mounted on wooden spikes with torches all around as well. As they got closer to the cliff, some kind of advanced facility came into view, along with more of those white Vipers. Remnant, and it sounded like Earth, had stories of humans turning into complete barbarians after the apocalypse. This was the first time she'd heard of any soldiers in ADVENT doing the same.

Shouting came from the speakers on the bridge. Ruby diverted her attention to the live views. The squad walked into an ambush. At least fifteen Vipers of various colorations surrounded Menace. Ruby grimaced but returned to her task. They had a chain of command. It wouldn't do to mess it up.

As she examined the past and live footage, some things grew apparent. These aliens weren't very organized. They slithered around without any particular tactics except to flank XCOM. A pair of Vipers actually ran into each other before two bursts from Mox laid them flat. Still, none of the Vipers gave the impression of being anything other than hostile aliens.

This lack of tactics allowed Menace to smash through the aliens and buildings with only taking a couple grazing hits from the aliens' projectile weapons. They proceeded through the cavern to a large broken glass wall. Inside of that there was… ice. A lot of it. Ruby cocked her head. It looked like what she accidentally did to the area around her after Kialandí was killed, but not quite. It was too smooth. Too planned.

Something tugged at the back of her head. She didn't take time to examine the first room in the facility. Ruby rolled back the footage until she saw what she wanted. The three holograms. One of them was a Viper. This thing looked like it had a natural crown. Over a dozen spikes surrounded its head. This thing didn't have the… venom sacks of other Vipers so this one was probably a male. A Viper King by the look of it… She was about to call it out when the actual Viper slithered into the view of the drone cam.

"I believe this is subject Gamma," Tygan said. As Menace scrambled for cover, the Viper moved faster. It took a shot at one of the soldiers Ruby didn't know sending her down screaming. The other unknown soldier took a shot with her sniper rifle, landing a bullet between the Viper's eyes. It didn't even flinch. In response, the alien shot something from its mouth and hit the unknown, freezing him and the area around him.

Ruby shot up from her chair. That threw out her Maiden idea completely. But that didn't mean that thing wasn't dangerous. More Vipers slithered in from all sides. Mox and Rayla focused on fighting the incoming Vipers while Bradford and Verge fired everything they had at the Viper. Verge took a hit to the shoulder and went down.

A second later Central sprinted out from behind cover and ran toward the Viper King. He held down the trigger of his rifle as he ran, most of the shots hitting home. When it clicked, Bradford chucked his weapon away and drew his sword. The Viper fired but the human slid under the attack. Central rolled once, sprang to his feet, and sliced the alien across the chest. For the first time, Ruby saw blood on the alien.

The Viper King stumbled back with an arm over the new cut on its chest. It roared at the ceiling and a purple and black swirling portal appeared. Ruby dropped her jaw. That was... just like how she traveled from Remnant to Alagaësia. Different execution, exact same look. The Viper slithered into the portal and both vanished from sight.

Other conversations spread throughout the bridge, none of them involved Ruby. She couldn't help but stare at the spot she last saw that apparent Viper King. None of the normal Vipers gave the impression that they were anything but. The King was just an overpowered version. One thing flew through her mind. _We need that Viper. __**I **__need that Viper._

* * *

**I realized several plot points while writing this thing that I didn't know about when I started writing. Stuff like that just happens all the time.**

**Apparently RT is going to be posting a RWBY based tabletop RPG on either their site or youtube fairly soon. Not sure if it's a completely new RWBY game or a RWBY based D&D hack, but that's got my attention.**


	9. Hit and Slither

**Whelp... so much for my sports optimism I mentioned last chapter. At least my Twins are still doing decent and Vikings training camp sounds like it's going good. If I can provide entertainment for people in this quarantine, I'm happy for it.  
**

**Anyway, to the story.**

* * *

Ruby sat at a table in the _Avenger's_ bar when the elevation alarm blared. She sighed and held on tight to the fragile dishes on the table in front of her. The whole room shook as the ship ran toward cruising altitude. Behind the bar itself, three people frantically secured all the booze and glasses on the shelves. Those things were secured better than some of the explosives down in the armory. Sure, that stuff was needed to keep morale up, but there were _definitely_ more important things onboard to secure.

As soon as the _Avenger_ leveled out, Ruby continued eating her MRE of some kind of mac and cheese. She saved some of the better stuff for people who couldn't stand the prepackaged meals. Her plate was almost clean when the ship's intercom chirped to life. _"The following soldiers, please report to the hangar: Sergeant Phil Coulson, Lieutenant Rex, Sergeant Ruby Rose, Corporal Greg Harmon, Corporal Tahvo Marlov, Sergeant Jane Kelly."_

"Of course…" Ruby slammed her water back, scarfed down the rest of her food, then left the bar. She wasn't in a hurry like she was the past few times. There had been enough of a pattern to the deployments for her to recognize that she had enough time to prepare before a mission. More than enough in fact. No one had to wear themselves down before deployment.

As she walked through the halls of the ship, she felt a sense of urgency from other people but didn't feel anything herself. She could have been sipping a mug of hot chocolate and it wouldn't feel out of place given the situation.

In the armory, it was more of the same. Ruby grabbed her gear without looking and any other weapons… with the exception of an assault rifle that had been painted with some science fiction fighters on the barrel and receiver. Someone on the ship was an artist.

Three other squad members hung about the armory and hangar, just not around the Skyranger where Firebrand was yelling at her ground crew. Rex and Coulson were nowhere to be seen… then again, Ruby never met Coulson. He could have been on the ground crew for all she knew. She'd only heard that he was the best covert operator XCOM had. The mission probably had something to do with him.

The missing soldiers were noticed by the other squad members. They all faced the door, especially when the _Avenger_ started its descent. Rex and Coulson didn't show up until after the ship touched down. Coulson wore a normal suit, looking more like a KBI agent than a soldier. Then again, if he was a spy, that might as well have been body armor.

"Firebrand," Rex called, "are we good to fly?"

"We got the holes from the last op patched up," the pilot called. "It might be a bit of a rough ride, but she'll get us there and back."

"Good enough for me," Coulson said. "Everyone, load up. We've got to make this quick." He walked toward the Skyranger with Rex right behind him. Definitely a mission coming from his field.

The squad loaded into the Skyranger and the elevator lifted the transport to the top of the ship. A few seconds later, the Skyranger lifted off the deck and banked to the left. The intercom crackled to life. _"We're sending you into southern Philadelphia for this mission," _Central announced._ "You have a tight window between the sports complex and the naval yard, so you've got to make this quick. Sergeant Coulson will brief you on the specifics."_

Coulson nodded and picked up the tablet that lay beside him. "First off, I see some new faces here. Hi, I'm Phil Coulson. Used to be the Director of a multinational intelligence organization before I ended up here." Ruby blinked. She wasn't surprised to see yet another powerful figure with XCOM, but he said it so nonchalantly, like it was no big deal. Even Ruby felt a little pride when she talked about her 'current' and former position with the Riders.

"Anyway, this mission." The projection screen that held the mission briefing switched to an image of an armored truck. "My contacts within the Liberated informed me from day one of their operatives currently inside ADVENT and a short list of those they thought could be recruited. This case is the latter. Our target for this mission was discovered trying to burn her way through the wall of an ADVENT facility some distance north of Philadelphia. She is being transported through the city as we speak and will be in position in a matter of minutes."

"Do we extract the target from a moving vehicle, or do we force them to stop?" Jane asked.

"The Liberated took care of that. They found a weakness in ADVENT's systems. The Elders made it law for all vehicles made under their regime to have a remote shutoff switch in case they needed something from the occupants. That includes their own people. Our friends found the frequency that ADVENT uses for this purpose. In other words, we can shut them down and any other vehicles in the area. We won't need to worry about hit and runs." Coulson grimaced. "At first at least. We don't know how long it's going to take for ADVENT to catch onto what we're doing and get the vehicles rolling again."

"What is target?" Marlov asked. Ruby didn't miss that he said 'what' not 'who.'

The screen changed again, this time to a mostly green Viper. Her face and part of her torso and arms were a silvery white. A red stripe ran around the top of her head. Lighter green scales covered her chest armor and a crest above her eyes. Quite a few spikes lined her arms and shoulders. Ruby cocked her head. "This one's different from the others I've seen."

Coulson nodded. "That's because this one's a Bio Viper. As far as the Liberated let me know, these are the rarest breed apart from the Psi Vipers. They're the shock troopers of the species." He looked straight at Ruby. "And you, Viper whisperer, are going to make first contact."

Ruby stared back and shrugged. "Okay." It made sense in a way. She had the most experience of any XCOM soldier with talking to Vipers. "We got a name or code phrase to tell this one we're friendly?"

"Sisarn Aliasis…" Coulson made a face. "Sisi Nasisl… I've tried for a while and I can't pronounce her actual name and don't even ask me how to spell it. The codename the Liberated gave her is Whiplash but it didn't sound like… Sisarn knew about it."

The sniper nodded. "Try not to get strangled on sight. Got it."

Coulson reached grabbed a beefy tablet from beside him and handed it across the crew compartment to Ruby. "You're going to need this. If you can get something from their systems this way, great. If not, I'm sure you can use your sword."

Ruby almost laughed at that. "Considering tech's not normally my thing, I might have to." She clipped the tablet to her belt.

"We're touching down in ten mikes," Firebrand called back. "I hope your contact can do what they claim."

"I have no reason to believe they can't."

Rex checked his weapons. "When we touch down, keep your weapons quiet and your heads down. The civies in the city are loyal. If they see something wrong, they _will_ let ADVENT know. One slip up our lives get a whole lot harder."

Ruby grabbed her rifle and made sure the magazine was locked in. "Just another day for XCOM." A few grunts from other soldiers followed her statement.

A few minutes later the Skyranger banked hard to the left. "Get ready to drop, Menace!" Firebrand called. "I'm going to need to book it out of here. Don't be late for your rendezvous." The lights in the crew compartment turned red.

"You heard the lady." Rex stood up and grabbed the bar above him. "Drop quick then to the shadows." Everyone else stood up and grabbed the rails on the ceiling. Ruby slung her rifle over her back. The Skyranger nosed up and Ruby felt herself be pressed into the floor. If it wasn't for her heightened equilibrium from years flying on Cerise, she would have at least wobbled. Grizzly and Bobcat almost fell over from the force.

The lights turned green and the back hatch lowered. Ruby jumped out first and grabbed one of the ropes that hung from the back of the Skyranger. As she fell, she easily picked out the sports complex. Four large sports stadiums, both outdoor and indoor, lay to the north of a highway. Directly to the south and west, a large military base. Ruby grit her teeth. This wasn't what she was expecting. Either Firebrand was extremely confident, ADVENT was _that_ incompetent, or XCOM was extremely short on time.

Ruby hit the ground and unslung her rifle. She ran toward the nearest building and jumped for the roof. As she set up near the edge, the Skyranger peeled off, completely visable to the naked eye. Music filtered through the air. Ruby turned her head toward it… they were right next to a large open green space with some kind of concert going on. Sure, it was dark out, but surely someone saw what happened. People would sure hear it when XCOM went loud.

"_Eyes on the bridge, Shadeslayer,"_ Coulson called. _"Don't worry about the civilians. They're too occupied with their ADVENT endorsed entertainment."_

Ruby grit her teeth and faced the bridge that covered the road that ran by her perch. "There's a lot of open space. Not a lot of places for bullets to be stopped."

"_Then don't miss."_

"I'm not the one you should be worried about." Ruby stared down her scope. An ADVENT checkpoint covered the length of the road. The guard consisted of mostly ADVENT soldiers with a Sectoid and a pair of Mutons as well. She was about to call out the enemies when a red Viper slithered around one of the guardhouses.

Ruby zoomed in on the giant snake. She searched for something, _anything_ that this one held in common with the one in the brig back on the _Avenger. _A specific lip curl, a look in her eyes, a curl in her tail. But no. This one looked about as military as the Troopers and Mutons. Other than that, nothing struck her as familiar. Just another target.

"I make out twelve hostiles at the checkpoint. I don't think there's any more in the guardhouse than what I see. It's too small."

"_Copy that,"_ Rex said. _"Menace 1-5 hold your fire until the convoy is shut down. _Avenger, _how long until contact?"_

"_ETA one minute, Menace,"_ the Commander said. _"Our contact is standing by to disable the vehicles. We'll stop them on your side of the checkpoint."_

Down on the ground, the rest of the squad spread out. A few took cover by parked cars. Marlov and Harmonran closer to the bridge and hid behind a concrete barrier. _"Grizzly,"_ Rex called, _"as soon as the convoy stops, blow the checkpoint. Bobcat cover him."_

"_Acknowledged,"_ Marlov said in his heavily accented English. _"They will not know what hit them."_

"_Shadeslayer, take out any officers, then make your way toward the truck. The rest of us will cover you."_

"Copy." Ruby grit her teeth. Twelve against six, plus however many were in the convoy. She didn't doubt her squad would win, but someone was going home injured. Someone always was against less odds. If she had access to her full power, she would be able to wipe the floor with these soldiers. Now, she just had a pea shooter and a sharp stick. _Me a pessimist. Who'd have thought?_

"_I've got movement,"_ Harmon whispered on comms. _"Two cruisers, one armored truck. Can't make out occupants."_

Ruby aimed her rifle down the road. The convoy was still quite a distance away on the other side of the bridge. The first and last vehicles looked like futuristic armored police cruisers while the middle was a blocky prison van. The tinting on the windshields couldn't give her a good view. Still, she could safely guess that each vehicle had a driver and at least one passenger. At least six more hostiles. Three to one… then she thought of something she'd heard in the bar quite a bit. "How easily do these cars blow up again?"

She could almost hear the grin in Rex' response. _"Very. Think you can time it with the checkpoint?"_

"If I get a good countdown." Ruby aimed her weapon at the center of the lead vehicle's hood. "Just say when." The convoy passed under the bridge.

"_Stand by for shutdown,"_ Central said. The lead vehicle stopped at the checkpoint. After a few seconds, they were let through. _"Five, four, three, two, one, shutdown."_ In unison, the headlights on all three vehicles shut off. The convoy slowed and they all turned right toward the side of the road. The sniper kept her weapon on the lead cruiser the whole time.

"_Launching,"_ Marlov called. Ruby saw the puff of smoke from the grenade launcher out of the corner of her eye. She watched the grenade arch while keeping her weapon trained. It hit the ground and bounced into the main guardhouse. The Muton inside just stared at it.

A millisecond separated the grenade explosion and Ruby pulling her trigger. The lead vehicle exploded right after. The sniper faced her target in time to see helmets and other body armor pieces fly away from the vehicle. No one inside could have survived. Ruby pulled the bolt back and loaded another round. That was easy.

She swung her rifle back toward the checkpoint. The soldiers closest to the blast struggled to get up off the ground while under fire. A Muton with half scorched armor fell under a salvo from Harmon's assault rifle. Jane sprinted from her cover to the burning wreck. She blasted the driver of the center van with her shotgun before drawing her sword and running toward the other side of the vehicle. It was a good initial strike but there were still a dozen enemies still standing. Here came the hard part.

Ruby searched the crowd for an angular red helmet. She picked it out near the back of the enemy 'formation.' The Officer shouted orders at his troops as they ran to defensive positions before he took one himself. Ruby lined up a shot and pulled the trigger. The shot hit home, right in the unprotected mouth. He fell backward never to rise again.

Seeing no more obvious officers, Ruby searched for one more target for her remaining bullet. She found it in the red Viper aiming her weapon right at the center of Ruby's scope. Both pulled their triggers at the same time. Ruby ducked out of the way as a green line of plasma flew through the spot where her head just was. She thought she smelled burnt hair. Ruby ejected her current magazine and loaded a new one before peeking over the edge again. The Viper retreated behind the wreckage of the gatehouse, one of her arms hanging limp by her side.

"Shadeslayer sees no Officers. I'm moving." Ruby jumped off the building and rolled on impact. She sprinted toward the burning wreck while keeping an eye on the firefight. Two more troopers and the other Muton fell in the onslaught. One of the specialist troopers in red armor, a Duelist she thought, aimed a pistol her way. Ruby aimed on the run and fired a shot in that general direction. She knew she didn't hit but it should have discouraged him from taking a shot.

"_I'm hit!"_ Harmon called over the radio. _"Damn Sectoids don't shoot like that!"_

"_I've got you, Bobcat,"_ Jane called. She ran out from behind the van and to the line of aliens. She jumped over a barrier and slashed at the Sectoid on the way down. As she sprinted away from her opponents, she took a shot to the back of the leg from the Duelist. Ruby took aim at the soldier as he prepared to execute Jane when two shots slammed into the Duelist's helmet, dropping him.

"_Get out of there, Quiet,"_ Rex called. _"Coulson's back there with you."_

Coulson? How? Ruby counted the bodies. There were two more corpses than there should have been. As she wondered how, a soldier in white Medic armor fell revealing Coulson standing in his place. Whoever this guy was, he was good.

"_We have the last two suppressed," _Rex called. _"Shadeslayer, make contact."_

"Will do." As Ruby left her cover, she couldn't help but mess up her face. Two? She might have missed one, but there should have been three. As she ran, the alarms at the adjacent military base blared to life. However many there were now, there were more than two.

She slammed into the side of the van then crept around the back. Ruby grabbed the tablet from her belt and brought it up. She pressed the big hack button in the center… and stared at the unfamiliar text. The only coding she knew involved bionics. Locks had to be simpler, but she had no clue how. She pressed a few buttons on her tablet and to her surprise, she heard something unlock. "I'm a genius." She clipped the tablet back to her belt and opened the door.

Inside near the back wall 'sat' a Viper that matched the image from the briefing... only without the armor so she was naked. A solid muzzle covered most of the front of her face. Her tail was bound in at least three places. Metal cuffs and chains kept her arms still while a leather band wrapped tight around her neck. She still had enough freedom of movement to turn her head toward the back of the truck. Green irises surrounded black slits of pupils, holding enough rage and anger to cut through metal.

Then… it all vanished. Her pupils widened to fill her whole eyes. Her shoulders slumped and her head dipped forward. A quiet whimper filtered through her muzzle. A familiar feeling hit Ruby like an Ursa. She wanted to break all those binds off the alien and bring her into a tight hug. Only it was more intense than what she felt around the Psi Viper on the _Avenger. _So much more… _Must be that Bio bit._

"Sisarn Aliasis?" Ruby asked as she stepped into the van. The Viper just stared back. "We don't have time for this. Are you Sisarn Aliasis?" The alien as slow as a snail, never taking her eyes off Ruby. "I'm Sergeant Rose with XCOM. The Liberated sent us. We're getting you out of here." Ruby looked for any keys. Seeing none, she drew her sword. The Viper held her arms as far away from her body as she could, never taking her eyes off her rescuer. Ruby chopped through those restraints first.

To the rescuer's surprise, the Viper proved extremely helpful in freeing herself. It's like she knew exactly the order in which Ruby would break the restraints. She didn't even try to break anything herself. Whoever she was, she wanted to make a good first impression.

Ruby saved the muzzle for last. She glared into the Viper's eyes. "You're not going to try to bite me, are you?" The Viper shook her head immediately, her eyes never moving. "Okay. I'm trusting you here." Ruby unclasped the straps holding the muzzle in place and pulled the whole thing off. As soon as her mouth was free, the Viper's tongue shot out of her mouth and licked Ruby's left cheek. The Huntress could only stare. Another thing in common with the Viper back on the ship. The feeling from before only grew stronger. Ruby messed up her lips. "Keep your pheromones to yourself."

Before any response came, gunfire resumed outside. Both vehicle occupants pressed themselves against the walls of the van. Sisarn hissed and slithered in front of Ruby as if to protect her. "Hey," Ruby put a gentle hand on the Viper's shoulder, "I've got the guns and the armor you should…" she trailed off as she realized she was talking to the Viper in the same tone she would use for some of the Riders back on Mor'ranar Vera. She shook her head and growled. "Can you fight?"

Sisarn turned her head back, her pupils once again slits. A low hiss, almost a growl, came from her throat and she nodded. A beautiful chill ran down Ruby's back. That feeling grew even more. As much as she hated what it could mean, she thought it meant the alien wouldn't hurt her.

Ruby keyed her comms. "This is Shadeslayer. I've got the VIP. If we can get Whiplash a gun, she can fight too."

"Avenger_ copies, Shadeslayer,"_ the Commander said. _"Firebrand?"_

"_ETA one mike,"_ Firebrand said. _"Gonna have to power through their air defenses but I'll make it."_

"Rose!" Rex called from outside. "We need all the firepower we can get out here!"

"On my way out." Ruby jumped out of the van and over a concrete barrier to protect herself from the bullets coming from the base walls. She pulled her rifle around searched for a target. Sisarn took cover right beside her and she stared at the line of defenders. Ruby took aim at an ADVENT Officer and pulled the trigger.

A sharp pain to her left shoulder accompanied the crack of her rifle. Ruby screamed and fell to her right side. Her right arm instinctively whipped up to her other arm and the injury. She clenched her eyes trying to block out the pain. She couldn't place the last time she'd been shot, but she was pretty sure it didn't feel like this.

An enraged roar filled the air. Ruby snapped her eyes open and looked skyward. Hearing it so many times over the years, she knew what accompanied it… but where was the dragon coming to her defense? That sound was always accompanied by a diving dragon ready to defend someone in trouble. But there was no dragon, and the sound was off. It wasn't nearly as guttural as even the youngest hatchling. This one should have sounded old, one of the oldest dragons alive. All of that realization happened in a matter of seconds.

Sisarn disappeared from Ruby's side. She didn't slither toward the wall but the bridge. She slithered over the last vehicle in the convoy and stared up at the bridge. She reeled her head back, shot it forward, and her long tongue shot out. It grew taut and recoiled with a soldier in Sniper armor coiled inside. Sisarn released the soldier only to coil her whole body around him. Unlike the other Vipers Ruby had seen on footage, this Viper positioned its head so its mouth was over the soldier's neck. She bit down and pulled back. The man's trachea hung in the Viper's mouth while the soldier bled. Sisarn uncoiled herself, grabbed the soldier's gun, and retreated to Ruby's side.

Once back at the barrier, she put pressure on Ruby's wound and shoved the captured rifle into Ruby's good arm. She pointed out a few blocks on the rifle before she waved someone over and putting even more pressure on the wound.

Ruby dipped her head to examine the strange blocks Sisarn pointed at. They were the little self-destruct devices that were on every ADVENT weapon. Ruby used her good hand to peel off the mini explosives and threw them away. They all exploded once they hit the ground. Sisarn grabbed the rifle then Ruby's bionic hand and forced it onto the gunshot wound. "I can fight." Ruby tried to push herself off the ground.

Sisarn hissed at Ruby and placed a hand on the uninjured part of her rescuer's chest. The Huntress stared with an open mouth. "But I-" The Viper hissed even more and pushed Ruby right back down. Things were adding up even more. Sisarn's eyes, the pressure she put on Ruby's chest, the subtle curls on her lips… The Viper raised the stolen rifle and took a shot at the wall. It wasn't the way she held the gun, but it was her laser focus. _But… no. That's impossible._

Soon after, the Skyranger appeared in the sky above them. People yelled on the comms but Ruby didn't hear a word of it. She was too focused on the Viper _she_ was supposed to be rescuing. As it stood now, Sisarn picked Ruby up and helped her to the evac site. Rex and Marlov stayed on the ground providing covering fire while the rest of the squad evaced.

Up in the transport, Sisarn put Ruby in one of the seats. Right next to the cockpit, Jane sprayed Harmon's injury with one of the onboard medikits. Sisarn then took a firing position at the edge of the floor. She took two shots by the time Rex and Marlov got up. She pulled the trigger once more and the gun clicked. A growl escaped her throat as she threw the weapon into the ship. The hatch started to close as the Skyranger accelerated away.

Sisarn stopped in front of Ruby and turned her head toward the human. Her eyes grew wide and a whimper escaped her throat. She pounced toward Ruby and leaned almost her entire weight on the wound. Ruby had a feeling that there was more that could have been done but she couldn't move.

"Hey. Viper. Out of the way." Jane muscled Sisarn aside, revealing Ruby's injury. "Ooh." Jane winced. "That's a heck of an exit wound. This'll take the pain away." She started spraying the medikit on the bullet wound. Ruby sighed and closed her eyes as the burning sensation started to fade.

A soft something pressed against her forehead. Ruby opened her eyes to see Sisarn holding a piece of cloth to her forehead. The Viper's eyes remained wide. The concern in them… something else too. Something very, _very_ familiar. "I know you."

Sisarn straightened up and the sides of her head raised. She pulled back and made a writing motion in the air. Ruby reached her bionic arm for her borrowed tablet. She handed it toward the Viper. Sisarn snatched it and hit a few things on the screen. Her eager expression faded as she scowled at the screen. She slithered backward and sat in an open seat. She made a noise of satisfaction, tapped a few more things, and turned it toward Ruby. The sides of her head raised again.

Three words took up the screen. 'I am Nalia.'

Ruby's heart fluttered. She wanted to believe that more than just about anything. Only two people topped Nalia on that list. But… Ruby shook her head. "No. Nalia is a dragon twice the size of my childhood home. You are neither." The sides of Sisarn's head fell again. She turned the tablet around and started tapping the screen with a single finger.

"Am I missing something?" Jane asked. "You know this alien?"

Ruby grit her teeth. "Maybe. We're trying to figure this out."

"A dragon?" Harmon scoffed, though it sounded pained. "You're kidding, right?"

Ruby gave him a look. "Your planet's been invaded by aliens. Your paramilitary group has soldiers and support staff from other planets, dimensions, or what have you. Can't you believe something that doesn't exist on your planet can exist on one of the other planets?"

Coulson shrugged. "That part at least checks out."

"I haven't seen them in person," Rex started, "but I've seen holos of Krayt dragons. Are you talking about one of those?"

"I know of Alagaësian dragons, Wyvern Grimm and Sea Feilongs. I'm not sure what a Krayt dragon is, but I'm sure Nalia isn't one of them." Ruby stayed silent while the Viper claiming to be Nalia continued tapping on the tablet. Whatever she was typing, it was more than just a sentence or two.

A couple minutes later, the Viper turned the tablet around. A full paragraph of text showed on screen. 'Your firstborn is Angel. Your second born is Crey. You built your first fake-metal-legs-and-eye at sixteen. You once said you would beat me in an over-land-speed-race but you never tried. You and my-partner-of-my-heart-and-mind-Aaron saved my first-love-egg from the Oath-Breaker's castle. You needed all of our help after the North Sanus Mountains. You were ready to turn the Dragon Riders to successor-Arya years before you did.'

Ruby clenched her teeth. That was all true and she hadn't mentioned most of that on Earth. "Where did I propose to Aaron?"

Sisarn turned the tablet around and tapped out a few more things before turning it back around. 'AARON proposed to YOU at the top of a water-drop-cliff in Du Weldenvarden.'

Ruby fought herself from crying and jumping out of her chair. Few people knew that part, just her team and their dragons… and the few elves Aaron recruited to help with the proposal, so probably more than she thought. But there was one thing that she knew for sure that no one outside a small group knew. Something that they wouldn't share to save their own lives. _"What were the first and last letters of my True Name on Vroengard when we entered the Vault of Souls?"_

Sisarn jumped in her seat and yelped. The sides of her head raised… just like a dragon's ears would when surprised. She lowered her head and her eyes narrowed. Her tongue flicked out of her mouth as she hissed at everyone else. She tapped on the screen again, this time going much slower. She turned it around, revealing a question written in the Ancient Language but with Vytalian letters. _'These letters or the other?"_

"_These people know these letters. The others would work better. That app should have a drawing feature." _The others in the Skyranger murmured among each other. Ruby couldn't catch all their words, but it sounded like they didn't like the conversation between near-human and alien to go in in a language they hadn't heard before.

The Viper turned the tablet around, tapped a couple things, then started drawing. Sisarn glared at those she didn't know over the top of the tablet. After a minute, she handed the device across the Skyranger face down. Ruby grabbed it and flipped it away from everyone else. Two letters in the Liduen Kvaedhi lay on the screen. The exact two she knew once applied to her.

Ruby cleared the screen and her mouth dropped open. She slowly raised her head to lock eyes with the Viper. The alien's eyes widened and her head raised in a friendly way. A quiet hum escaped her throat. Sisarn Aliasis… Ruby felt so stupid. It was literally in the name. "Nalia?"

The Viper hummed and cocked her head like she would have whenever Angel or Crey did something cute. She blinked three times in a row, adding to the effect.

Ruby jumped out of her seat and pounced on her second dragon. She wrapped her arms around Nalia, ignoring the pain in her left shoulder and squeezing as hard as she could. The hug was returned much softer at first, then grew stronger and Nalia's head pressed into the back of the Rider's. Her hum turned into whimpers. She stood up somewhere in there and carried Ruby backward to her seat.

Nalia let the Rider go, then forced her down to the seat. She pulled the restraints down and secured her friend in the seat. Ruby could only stare. "Wha, Nalia, what are you-"

Nalia pointed at Ruby's injury, then the seat. She shook her head with peeled lips. Her eyes squinted a little as well.

Something wasn't right. "Nalia, what's going on?"

The Viper snatched the tablet from where Ruby set it. Nalia took her time poking something into the tablet. Her eyelids trembled. If it was possible, she would have been crying. She turned the tablet around.

Three words took up the screen. 'I killed you.'

* * *

**I know one of you called something like this. Cookie for you.  
**

**Fair warning, he next upload from me won't be for this. I said at the end of _Reconstruction_ I had another project in mind and I just can't get it out of my head... I need to stop picking up more.**


	10. In a Snake's Clothing

**Ugh... Mandatory overtime... good for the paycheck, but not for doing things outside of work... This probably would have been uploaded a week ago otherwise... We don't need to talk about my sports teams either...**

**Enough depressing 2020 talk.**

* * *

Ruby stared at those three words on the tablet, then at the dragon in a Viper's body. "Nalia, you didn't kill me. I don't think we were on the same continent when I got dragged here."

Nalia whimpered and shook her head. She made several whining and keening noises before stopping and staring at Ruby. She returned her attention to her tablet and tapped a few things. A little while later, she turned the tablet around. 'Open your mind.'

"I can't." Ruby grit her teeth and shook her head. "ADVENT put something in my head that works like a suppression collar." She turned her head so that Nalia could see the back of it. The Viper screeched. "The doctors on our side can't get it out." Ruby felt two warm fingers press against the back of her head and run down either side of the scar. There was a little bit of pain but Ruby didn't flinch away. Nalia needed to see it.

Ruby turned her head back to Nalia. The Viper's pupils filled her whole eyes. Her tail lay perfectly still. _"You know there are only two others I'd rather have in my head. If I could have, I would have checked your mind back on the battlefield. Now, I'd latch on and not let go for so long."_

Nalia lunged forward and flung her arms around Ruby. She touched the wounded arm for less than a second before snaking her arms underneath her second Rider's. Her head curled around Ruby's. The Huntress sighed and leaned into the embrace as much as she could while returning it with her free hand. Sure, she had Invidia on the _Avenger,_ but their relationship was more professional than personal. Having someone she loved so much so close again… her first real smile in she didn't know how long burst onto her face. The hum that came from Nalia's chest sounded happy as well mixed with something else, probably relief, if she understood the former dragon's situation right.

"You know this Viper?" Grizzly demanded. "That snake claimed to kill you and you hug it like it's babushka?"

And there went the moment. Ruby grimaced and leaned back into her restraints. She turned her attention to the others in the crew compartment. Coulson looked at Nalia with interest. Rex sat with his arms crossed but that could mean just about anything. Who knew what his expression was under that helmet. The others had glares of varying intensity and all had hands on their weapons. "I don't know what a 'babushka' is, but yes. I know this Viper. Her name is Nalia Quickwing and where we're from, she's a dragon."

"A dragon?" Bobcat scoffed, then winced. "Do we have different definitions of that word?"

Ruby glared at him. "Giant, horned, winged, fire breathing lizards that can bite you in two if you tick them off." Nalia growled in agreement. "They can be terrible enemies, but I trust Nalia with my kids' lives. She's not a threat to XCOM unless you try to kill her or me."

Grizzly swore in his own language and angled his weapon toward Nalia. "It's a Viper. It can't be trusted."

"I suggest you stay quiet before you say something you'll regret," Coulson said. "The Liberated were interested in this Viper and they are our allies. We don't need a rift between us so early."

"Thank you, Sergeant." Ruby turned her attention back to Nalia. The Viper glared right at Grizzly, her fingers clenched. If she still had visible ears, they would be pressed against her head. A light growl escaped her throat. "What do you mean you killed me?"

Nalia's anger disappeared in an instant. The growl turned straight into a whimper. Her body grew slack with her arms hanging by her sides. She faced Ruby with eyelids drawing apart and her pupils filling her whole eyes. Her lower lip trembled, then her tongue darted out and licked Ruby's cheek. She slithered back to her seat, picked up the tablet again, and started tapping her response.

"You calmed down enough back there?" Firebrand called.

"For now," Rex responded. "We'll see how long that lasts."

"Well, for those interested, I've got the latest ADVENT propaganda from our mission."

The Skyranger's intercom chirped. _"XCOM dissidents have taken their most radical action yet." _It was a man's voice this time over the typical female reporter. If what the others said was true, this was the Speaker, the supposed leader of the ADVENT collaboration government. _"In our great city of Philadelphia, XCOM freed a dangerous criminal from ADVENT custody. Not only did they kill loyal enforcers in the process, but many civilians at a nearby concert were killed by their fire. The Elders will make sure these actions will not go unpunished."_

Rex' helmeted head looked around the crew compartment. "I trust that those civilian casualties were actually caused by ADVENT?"

"None of my shots were in a ninety degree arc of the concert," Ruby said. "I can't make that kind of ricochet here, not that I've tried in the field yet." Most eyes in the transport turned to her then back to Rex. Everyone stayed silent before telling the ranking officer what they thought of their own shots.

Jane, who spoke last, shifted in her seat. "Maybe a stray slug or two from me may have made it over that way. Not all of them made it into my targets."

"The Commander will want to check all our body cams, just to be sure," Coulson said. "Even if it was a stray shot, our own propaganda's going to need to know about it."

Ruby returned her attention to Nalia. The dragon in Viper's clothing tapped at the tablet in her hands. Nalia's eyes turned up for a second and locked with Ruby's. She hummed, sounding half like a whimper, then returned her attention to the screen in front of her and tapped even faster.

The Commander or Central spoke over the Skyranger's intercom but Ruby didn't hear a word. The initial shock and joy of seeing Nalia again had worn off and the pain in her shoulder started to scream for her attention. It was nowhere near as bad as it was before the medikit application, but it wasn't the most pleasant experience. Ruby winced in pain and breathed through her teeth. Nalia tapped at her tablet even faster.

After a few more minutes in flight, Nalia slithered to Ruby's side and handed her the tablet. She then forced herself into the small space between her second Rider and the ramp and cuddled as close as possible. Ruby leaned her head into it as she read what Nalia typed. It was in the Ancient Language, but in Vytalian letters.

'A Grimm parasite took over me. It forced me to attack and burn Vale. I killed so many. I killed you. I am so sorry, Gem. I love you. I would never hurt you. I look after Angel and Crey just as you would.'

Ruby lowered the tablet and stared at the seat straight ahead of her. But… that was what Cerise did to Aaron. Nalia didn't do that. She would never. Then again, Cerise would never either. They couldn't both be true… Ruby looked around the crew compartment. She counted at least three worlds represented here. No one knew how any of them got to this one. Nalia was there when Ruby spoke her True Name to open the Vault of Souls. Very few others were. This Viper _was_ Nalia. Maybe not hers, but Nalia all the same.

The Rider shifted her head and Nalia pulled hers away. Wide eyes bored into Ruby's. "Gem? Only my mom and Cerise can call be that." The sides of the Viper's head sagged. Ruby raised her good arm and rested her bionic hand on top of Nalia's head. "The Grimm did that. _Salem_ did that. _Not_ you. I know you'd never hurt me." Nalia's head raised again. Ruby's smile fell away. "This won't be easy to hear, but where I'm from, Cerise did the same to Aaron."

Nalia pulled away in an instant. Her eyes narrowed and her pupils turned back to slits. A deep growl burst from her throat. Ruby gave her the look that she used to give Aaron when he said or did something stupid. "Cerise is in the exact same situation as you." Her look softened. "She hates herself as much as you do." Nalia silenced herself and loosened a little bit of her tension. She made a questioning growl and Ruby shrugged. Professor Who was Yang's show but the whole family knew the quote. "Wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff." Nalia let her arms hang and she turned her head away and to the floor.

Bobcat looked straight at Ruby. "Was that a Doctor Who reference?" he groaned.

"Professor Who actually." Ruby winced in pain as she paid for her shrug. Nalia raised her head toward Ruby again. "I really wish Orchid was here…" The Rider stared into the distance without seeing anything. Something in her head hit her like an anvil. All those times visiting the Viper in the brig. That one thought made everything click. "Oh my gosh… I am a moron." Nalia cocked her head and made another questioning noise. "Orchid _is_ here. We've known about her for weeks. She's in the brig."

The sides of Nalia's head tilted up in back and her eyes narrowed again. She hissed her disagreement with the situation. "I know. I wouldn't have let them put her in there if I'd known. She's a Viper too, Tygan and Invidia say she's a Psi-Viper." The whole sides of Nalia's head raised that time. "Yeah. Invidia's XCOM's lead medical doctor. I don't know why she didn't know we have Orchid though. Gonna have to ask her."

Nalia hissed aggressively again. She flicked her tongue out of her mouth then pointed at Ruby's injury. "That's the idea, if she still has her Semblance anyway. I sure don't have mine."

"_It sounds like you have some explaining to do, Sergeant,"_ the Commander's voice came over the Skyranger's speakers.

Ruby raised her head and stared directly at the camera in the crew compartment. "I will tell you what I can, but there's so much I don't know. But first, we more than likely have a dragon that would never hurt any of her friends in the brig being treated like a criminal. If I'm right, we're about to get another extremely valuable crewmember, and friend."

"_Friends don't win wars Sergeant."_

Ruby scoffed and it sounded like Nalia did the same. "Then you really don't know us. Besides, in a war, friends can be the fiercest allies." She got a few strange looks for her words but she didn't care. Nalia, one of the people she trusted the most in her life, sat right beside her. Orchid, the friendliest dragon to ever live, was in the brig, and that situation needed to be corrected.

The rest of the squad took their eyes off Ruby and started talking among themselves. Ruby sighed and leaned toward the ramp again. Nalia fit herself into the small space and rested her head on top of Ruby's. If it wasn't for the pain in her shoulder and the turbulence the Skyranger flew through, she could have fallen asleep right then and there. Nalia would never be Cerise, but she was better than the nothing that currently filled Ruby's head.

The two of them stayed like that the rest of the flight. Right after the transport touched down, Nalia helped Ruby out of her restraints. The ramp lowered and Coulson stepped out. "We've got two wounded here. Clear the area."

Nalia pulled Ruby to her feet then pointed to the med kit on the wall by the cockpit. She cocked her head and made a questioning trill, something that sounded almost cute compared her normal deep and gravelly voice. Ruby shook her head as she slung her good arm over the Viper's shoulder. "If I'm right, the best medic onboard is on the bottom floor." Nalia nodded and she helped Ruby out of the Skyranger.

They walked and slithered past one of the two nurses on board. At first it looked like they were going to protest but then they saw Grizzly carry Bobcat out of the ship. They rushed to his side as they let the Rider and Viper continue on. Ruby led the way through the _Avenger_ to the nearest elevator. They slowed down only for Ruby to drop her weapons off in their racks. She and Nalia got a few looks as they passed but no alarms sounded. At least that went right.

Once on the bottom floor, Ruby tensed. She'd had too many run-ins with over enthusiastic guards when they visited the brig before. Taking in a Viper they didn't know probably wouldn't be the best thing to not set jumpy guards off. As usual two guards stood outside the brig. Thankfully, Bones was one of them. Ruby didn't know the other man. The male guard looked Ruby's way and stiffened. He half raised his rifle before Bones forced it back down and shook her head. "I don't know what's going on, Rose," Bones said as she turned her head toward Ruby, "but we have orders to make sure you and your new friend get in unharmed." She stared at Ruby's gunshot wound. "But I think you should see the doc first."

"I am seeing the doc. One of the best ones I know." Since neither guard did it themselves, Ruby hit the open door button. The metal slid to the side and Ruby and Nalia walked in. The Rider stared at the purple Viper through the one-way glass. The Viper that could be Orchid paced with her arms crossed and head down. Ruby glanced at Nalia. The Bio Viper stared into the cell with unblinking eyes. "What do you think?"

Nalia shrugged and made a confused trill.

"Not enough. Got it." Ruby sighed. "I guess there's one way to make sure." She walked toward the door with Nalia right beside her. She opened the door and stepped inside.

The Viper turned her purple head around, her eyes settling on Ruby. They were initially filled with her sadness, then recognition. She straightened up with the sides of her head raising. Then she noticed Nalia. She lowered her upper body and hissed at the other Viper. Her tail twitched like she was about to pounce. That was a very dragon like action, though Ruby didn't know if normal Vipers did that too.

"She's with me," Ruby said in a kind voice. "Trust me, you're in more danger from an aggressive corgi than this Viper." The Psi Viper straightened and looked at Ruby. Her eyes flicked to Ruby's bullet wound and her arms hung. She whimpered and her tongue flicked out of her mouth.

Ruby looked down at her injured arm. She had a few scratches farther down. That would be a good test rather than going straight to the bullet wound. "What is your Semblance." She raised her head toward the Psi Viper. The Viper stood her straightest yet but with her mouth closed. Her pupils filled her whole eyes. Yet she didn't do anything to reveal a Semblance. "I'll ask again, what is your Semblance? If you are who I think, I'll know your Semblance from sight alone."

The Viper's purplish red tongue flopped out of her mouth. A split second later, a faint purple glow surrounded it. Ruby took a deep breath through her nose. That was it. She held her arm straight toward the Viper, making sure 'Orchid' saw the scratches. "You know what to do."

'Orchid' slowly slithered forward, her eyes flicking between Ruby's wound and Nalia. About halfway to Ruby, she stopped and took her tongue back into her mouth. She hummed high and long. Nalia softened beside Ruby and she hummed as well. Orchid picked up her pace and grabbed Ruby's arm. Her glowing tongue lolled out again and landed right on one of the worst scratches. She guided it up Ruby's arm, almost all the way to the bullet wound. Ruby felt the familiar tingle that healed quite a few of her injuries before, though it wasn't as strong as it was back then. There was no doubt about it now.

Orchid pulled away once and looked at the arm. She cocked her head and licked the entire area thrice more. After that, not even the largest scar remained. Ruby's arm felt as good as it ever had. Orchid nodded at her work then locked eyes with Ruby. A happy hum burst from her throat as her pupils widened.

Ruby sighed and smiled at the dragon in a Viper's body. "I know you want to, Orchid. Just watch the shoulder."

The purple Viper pointed her head at the ceiling and 'roared' happily. She launched herself at Ruby's right side and wrapped her arms around her. She reeled her neck back then slithered it forward to rest underneath Ruby's chin. That was something she occasionally tried to do with Violet, but with their size differences, that didn't work out too well. When everyone was roughly the same size, it worked out wonderfully.

After about a minute of the cuddle, Orchid pulled back and pointed at the gunshot wound. Ruby nodded. "We should probably get my armor off first. Better access for you." As one, though they fumbled with their actions, the two Vipers peeled the broken armor off Ruby. She tried to help, but both dragons shut her down with a look. Ruby just stood there and let the two fret over her.

Once her armor was taken care of, Orchid set to kissing the wound away. For the first time, there was a little bit of pain in the first few licks. Ruby winced each time Orchid's tongue hit her skin. The dragon sped her treatment up after she saw that. After about ten kisses, the pain was gone. Five more and the normal soothing feeling started to take over. Ruby sighed when that happened and could finally look at Orchid's progress. Her injury looked like a literal bloody pulp, something she hadn't seen before with Orchid's treatment, but it got better with each lick.

After way too long, Ruby's skin reformed to its natural state. Orchid sighed and slumped away. Nalia caught her and held her up. The Psi Viper grunted her thanks. Ruby brought her natural hand up and touched the area. If she didn't know otherwise, she wouldn't be able to tell she was shot. Not even a scar remained.

"Glad to see one of us still has our Semblance." Ruby rubbed the top of Orchid's head. "Yours is probably the most useful around here."

Orchid tried to smile with her unusual mouth but it sell away before it could fully form. She tapped the side of her head twice. Nalia whimpered and shook her head. The two Vipers locked eyes. They occasionally trilled at each other but judging from their expressions, they spoke in each other's minds. Orchid's eyes widened and her upper body slacked.

A second later, she shrieked and shot off the ground. She lowered herself to the floor and started curling around the Rider. After several rotations, her torso ended up level with Ruby's. She hugged Ruby as hard as she could and wrapped her head around the Rider's. It felt extremely tight but not painful in the slightest. Ruby sighed and leaned her head against Orchid's while looking at Nalia. "You told her about the thing in my head?" Nalia nodded without a sound. Ruby turned her eyes a little to the left and managed to meet one of Orchid's. "Do you know if Violet's alive." The Viper hummed and nodded.

Orchid pulled back and looked Ruby in the eyes. Her glowing tongue lolled out again. Ruby shook her head and blocked the tongue with her hands. "Thanks, Orchid, but no. I don't want to feel that good about not having Cerise in my head." Orchid narrowed her eyes and her tongue shot between Ruby's fingers. Ruby gasped as it hit her cheek. The tongue flailed as the dragon kissed her mother's Rider's worry away. But not all of it. The day's worries disappeared, the hurt from being alone for weeks disappeared, but not the ache of having half her mind being empty. In other words, the best she could feel without having Cerise in her head.

Ruby relaxed in the Viper's grip and pulled her hand back. Orchid pulled her tongue back a second later. "Sorry, Orchid. I guess I haven't been paying as much attention to you as I used to."

A door opened behind Ruby. She turned her head around to see the Commander walk in along with Central, Invidia, and the guards from outside the brig. Invidia's expression didn't give away anything, but her eyes locked solely on Orchid. If she saw the treatment from the other side of the one way glass, she knew who the Viper was. The guards held their weapons ready but pointed at the ground. "Are we interrupting, Sergeant Rose?" the Commander asked.

"No, Commander. The procedure just ended." Ruby tapped Orchid's coils and the Viper pulled her tail back to let the Rider out. "Commander, Central, I'd like to introduce you to Nalia Quickwing and Orchid Healtongue." Ruby gestured to each Viper as she said their names. "Nalia is my husband's dragon and Orchid is my dragon's daughter. Both of them are telepathic and understand and speak perfect Vytalian, er, English. If you let them, they can speak directly in your minds."

"I can confirm, Commander," Invidia said. "There is a little difference in their minds but they are who Shadeslayer claims." She relaxed her shoulders and focused on Orchid again. "I believe that is why neither of us recognized each other when our minds touched."

The Commander glanced back at Invidia then faced Ruby again. "Two more from your world. Besides this Earth, that makes yours the one with the most people here. Can you offer an explanation why?"

Ruby shrugged. "The only thing I can think of is that we constantly use magic to move from Remnant to Alagaësia. Maybe something there makes us easier to kidnap. Besides that, I've got no clue. I don't even know how we got here. That's more Tygan's and Romero's field."

"The Liberated let us know about… Nalia." Central gestured at said Viper. "They knew we had a Viper in our brig and said nothing. Can either of them be trusted?"

Ruby felt her eyebrows twitch. "In a fight, there are only two others above Nalia I'd rather have by my side and she agrees. Orchid?" She scoffed. "An overly affectionate golden retriever puppy poses more of a threat to XCOM." Ruby pointed at the shoulder that was shot in the recent fight. "As pleasant as puppy kisses are, they can't do this."

Central and the Commander stared at where the wound should have been with blank expressions. The guards whispered amongst themselves. Ruby winced at her word choice. No dragon liked being compared to animals. She'd be paying for that later.

The Commander crossed his arms. "Well, you seem to believe that these two will be of service to XCOM. I wish we could take as many as we like, but we have limited supplies and space onboard."

"Space will not be a problem. We need one bed between the two of them." Ruby glanced at the dragon she didn't normally share a room with. She and Nalia slept together all the time. Orchid… she was too cuddly and she had to be missing Violet as well. "Probably not even that most of the time." The sides of Orchid's head raised. Ruby returned her attention to the Commander. "Food, just be glad they aren't dragons right now. That wouldn't be easy to feed. Orchid's kisses can cure almost any disease and heal almost every injury. Nalia's going to need some hands on training to be able to fight with guns but you won't find another soldier that works as hard as her.

"We'll see about that." The Commander looked between the two Vipers. "Central will need to debrief both of you before it becomes official, but at the moment, I see no reason to keep either of you in the brig. I leave you in Sergeant Rose' care until then." He paused as he faced Ruby. "After she has Invidia and Tygan inspect her injury that is." Nalia straightened and gave the Commander a salute. Orchid hummed and bowed her head."

"I'll get to you when I can," Central started, "but at the moment you're my lowest priority. I hope you can keep your heads down until then."

"I assure you that the only trouble they'd cause would result in a noise complaint," Ruby said.

Central grimaced and turned his head away. "And someone get Nalia a shirt."

Ruby blinked and faced Nalia. The Bio Viper gave Central a strange look then looked down at herself and the very human like breasts. She jerked her head to look up at Ruby. A long and low hissing sound came out of her mouth but she didn't try to cover herself. "Shirt, yes. Bra, probably not." Ruby turned back around. Most of the group the Commander came with had left the cell leaving only the elf. Invidia cast the dragons a sad glance before leaving.

Ruby sighed and relaxed. She didn't realize how tense she was until then. "Invidia probably filled them in on some of the specifics." She turned around and faced Orchid. "I'm sorry I compared you to a dog. I know how you feel about that. It's the only thing I could think of on the spot to convince him you weren't a… threat." Ruby blinked as Orchid stuck her tongue out and started panting like a dog. She barked twice then got back to panting. Ruby winced. This was the first time she knew of that Orchid mocked anybody. "I know. I know. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Orchid pulled her tongue back in. She waved her hands in front of herself. She stopped herself then hugged Ruby again. Ruby stood there for a second before returning it. Of course Orchid wouldn't hold it against her. "Thank you, Orchid."

They gave each other a big squeeze before pulling apart. "As happy as I am to see the two of you, I want to know a few things that I don't think anyone here knows. How are you Vipers and not dragons," Ruby shifted her gaze to Nalia, "and how did you kill me when I'm still here?"

* * *

**Ah, the feeling of not being alone, a feeling that is almost impossible to come by this year.**


End file.
